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Post by Èdan on Jun 2, 2021 16:09:22 GMT -6
Every now and again he does something to provoke.
Most of the time its approaching closer than intended, and the baakir's stance immediately changes to one looking threatening. It's not quite what he's looking for, but it's closer than when they started. When the beast has finished making its point, he backs up again, responding to the threat with retreat - Both a figurative treat and reward in that scenario, as there is nowhere in hell or earth that he would get close enough to offer any tangible ones (He's heard that it's common with this 'training' sessions, although what exactly counts as 'treat' and what is just food thrown at the creatures remained unclear, so he hadn't bothered with it).
At least the beast isn't following after him to truly and properly throw him out of the yard, which was progress. The glaive on his shoulder might be helping with that, but he doesn't notice any specific signs of an impulse to, either.
. 30 . Lisan: 29 (3/5) ( Intimidation: 15 )
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Post by Èdan on Jun 2, 2021 16:36:08 GMT -6
But there's also a different sort of provocation.
He snaps the fingers again to spark a bit more of the hollow magic. The first time it's a sarane's shriek echoing through the yard. Then the hungry sneer of a wolf after that. Eventually the deep rumble of a lion's roar. In each of the cases, the idea is to unsettle the baakir with something more familiar to it's nature, as well as more closer to what it might actually face in terms of predators (Or so he assumes. At the very least the creature populace had a tendency to fall into pretty distinct categories of "dragon", "dog" and "cat". "Bird" as well, although that didn't necessarily seem as threatening).
And the beast does not disappoint. Even though it can't tell the source of the sounds, it immediately assumes a defensive posture. Mere hours ago, it would have been skittish and frightful, bolting at the first sign of a predator. But now it seemed to try to find it so it could give it a proper challenge in turn.
. 31 . Lisan: 29 (4/5) ( Intimidation: 16 )
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Post by Èdan on Jun 2, 2021 16:46:13 GMT -6
So the instinct is now there, in it's proper place - Whatever is around it, be it a humanoid with a poky stick or a full-grown predator stalking unseen, it would stand its ground and meet the challenge. The methods still leave something to be desired, but that's where refinement comes it. After all, no actor ever managed a proper soliloquy without rehearsing it beforehand.
The baseline is there, fortunately already taught by someone else before he took this job on. Keyword - Spook.
Prey generally don't have much going for them in terms of seeming frightening, but these baakir beasts seem to have one physical advantage - The fins on the sides of their heads. Plus their size. And their hooves.. And the horns on the head that's conveniently attached to a neck made up near-entirely of corded muscles thick as a log.
While he didn't consider most animals to have a particular intelligence for observation, then surely even the denser ones would see that combination and start weighting their options towards finding lunch elsewhere.
. 32 . Lisan: 30 (0/5) ( Intimidation: 17 )
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Post by Èdan on Jun 3, 2021 13:38:34 GMT -6
He continues to circle, but spares the animal sounds for now. He can risk getting closer to bring the full attention him, but he doesn't poke too close - There's not much need, the idea is to make one's persuasion clear at range. If the beast started to seem intimidating only once the predator was close enough, that could be far too late in many cases.
So he wanders closer, glaive still on shoulder and calls out the command word from the paper scrap. As both times before, the frills on the baakir immediately flick outward into a prominent display, and it kicks the ground as an added piece of flavour. And much like before, he thinks to know the timing just right, and ends up just wrong, flinching back. It annoys him, but ultimately plays into the part as intended - As soon as the display is done, he backs off again, leaving the beast be.
. 33 . Lisan: 30 (1/5) ( Intimidation: 18 )
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Post by Èdan on Jun 3, 2021 13:43:03 GMT -6
The beast then wanders loose for a while, and he tries again, getting just close enough to catch its attention and calling out that specific command word. The baakir performs the display as expected, and he backs up again, as expected. All in all, not quite the most exciting part of the whole exercise, but then some of the most important steps to refining a thought, an approach, an idea or a concept are ultimately the most boring ones.
Repetition is key to the initial stage of it. Again and again and again. Until finally, he begins the approach and the beast hones into him, already stamping the ground before he can so much as open his mouth. Curiously, he waits with the command, continuing to step closer. And eventually, there it is..
The baakir gives a loud trumpet, fins flaring out, without him so much as even giving a peep of sound.
. 34 . Lisan: 30 (2/5) ( Intimidation: 19 )
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Post by Èdan on Jun 3, 2021 13:49:17 GMT -6
The thing has no point of reference to understanding it, but the man smiles. Finally.. Now there is a display worth putting a frightened skip in any foolhardy predator's step.
He backs up, same as before, leaves the creature alone, and finally approaches again some time later. After all, just because the beast understood the whole point of the exercise once didn't quite confirmation of comprehension as a whole make. But the baakir's head remains high, its posture having every bit of the haughty vibe, and it performs the display again, before he's able to get all too close. It succeeds a third time, and a fourth. By the fifth, he's quite satisfied of the results, jumping the fence to stand outside of it.
Now the beast isn't just standing its ground. It's also refined the art of having a permanent air of indignance about it, a proverbial smile of blades ready to cut should the bluff be called.
He just hopes the owner knows what he's in for, once the beast is handed back to them.
The job done, he hides the glaive under a bush near the fence and takes his leave. It is about an hour later that the glaive shudders, warps, and disapparates into thin air.
. 35 . (added) Lisan: 30 (3/5) ( Intimidation: 20 )
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Post by Èdan on Jan 18, 2022 17:05:01 GMT -6
Atrum / "Art"
There's a time and a place for everything and unfortunately the specific 'place' part of that equation wasn't going to be the park. At first, at least - Too few people, too many animals. Not exactly the ideal type of environment to foster a young, inquisitive mind looking to absorb new information from the world. (Well, presumably young. The shadow hasn't been in the man's possession for all too long, but it also rather seems unaware of the concept of 'age' and at best could only describe itself as 'recent'). No, the 'place' would have to be somewhere more public, more crowded, more filled with the chatter and the noise of everyday life, showcasing the sheer volume of versatility the spoken language is able to portray. More than one spoken language, in point of fact, but they had to start from somewhere.
As for the time, well.. The man has spent some months studying the little shadow that began to trail his wake, and while he's been able to learn quite a few interesting factors about it, there still remains a certain barrier that needs crossing.
. 1 . Atrum: 20 (1/5)
( Foreign Language - Common I: 1 )
( Previously done some groundwork here. Character also has Clever Communication with species. )
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Post by Èdan on Jan 21, 2022 6:40:15 GMT -6
Namely that of a more direct form of communicating. His observations quickly led him to realize the little shadow had more intelligence than any of the other beasts (For such things are easily betrayed by the eyes and the ways intelligent things look at others) but for the longest while a means of making a connection remained.. elusive. A time was spent fishing where he hoped the shadow would be able to look and observe, to pick things up on the go, but such an attempt none the less feel short given the shortness of the trip as well. As well as due to another, more problematic factor.. Namely, that the little shadow is quite silent.
A useful factor for anyone observant and wishing to avoid drawing attention, but likewise an issue when trying to convey or deduce any sort of meaning from one another. Even simple sounds or grunts might have served to improve the communication bridge between then, but that doesn't quite work half as well when one-sided.
. 2 . Atrum: 20 (2/5) ( Foreign Language - Common I: 2 )
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Post by Èdan on Jan 21, 2022 6:45:00 GMT -6
Fortunately for the man, it was the shadow who seemed eager to make that connection a little bit easier, beginning to showcase gesture in place of sounds or noises, as a means to convey a thought. It was simplistic at first, even so far as simple 'yes' or 'no', and rather lacking is specific urges more relevant to flesh-and-blood beasts, some concepts (Such as 'food') could ever remain a mystery to it. But, persistence yielded results and the more he paid attention, the more he was able to decipher some of the shadow's 'language', as it were, if it even was that. As such, the two eventually reached a stage in which the shadow had little trouble conveying meaning to a fair few things to him, and on his part the reply looked to make sense to the shadow, but only so long as it was done through gestures.
And as things were, the world, unfortunately, largely still depended on more vocal forms of communication. So it is time for the shadow to take a step further and begin the process of learning the meaning to the sound, just as it does to the gestures.
. 3 . Atrum: 20 (3/5) ( Foreign Language - Common I: 3 )
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Post by Èdan on Jan 21, 2022 6:50:24 GMT -6
A no simple, nor quick process, at that. The man himself had to spend a good many months among the tradesmen before he had been able to pick up even a baseline understanding of this 'common' tongue. Further practise and even some more direct learning (under the guise of a different sort of foreigner, of course) eventually refined that to a much more complete grasp of it. The idea with the shadow is not too dissimilar, though the follow-up process would certainly have to be a little different.. After all, one can't really practise 'speaking' a language when they don't have a voice, but there are other ways to ensure it at least understands it.
As for the first step, that's where the subject of 'place' comes in. Where he had the chance to learn the language from a handful of tradesmen, the City is certainly filled with considerably more places where the common tongue could be heard spoken out loud. . 4 . Atrum: 20 (4/5) ( Foreign Language - Common I: 4 )
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Post by Èdan on Jan 21, 2022 6:53:59 GMT -6
To begin with, the man would spend the start of the day as the courier, wandering the market and the docks, on the usual pretence of errands. The shadow would tag along, hidden within the fold of the vest collar, hidden within the shadow of his steps, or even occasionally hitching a ride on the shoulder. The appearance or location of the shadow isn't necessarily as important as the environment that they would pass through, though he does caution it to keep a low profile. After all, it is better to have a hidden agent when everyone isn't made aware of one by the constant view.
The object of the exercise is to further familiarize the shadow with the spoken tongue, as even a concept. It's easy enough to forget such simple steps, when one is so used to it, but such is the difference between the material and the ethereal - Some concepts don't matter nearly as much to one as the other.
. 5 . Atrum: 21 (0/5) ( Foreign Language - Common I: 5 )
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Post by Èdan on Jan 21, 2022 6:59:24 GMT -6
It's also not a very lengthy steps, in large part because the shadow has already experienced the man trying to talk to it on quite a number of occasions. Thus, the first few days are mostly to simply apply a baseline of expectations, perhaps even an introduction into how a vocal conversation can even happen. 'Watch and learn' is key - The way expressions change, motions accompany words, the tones of voices and the types of melodies that each language seems to come with. Whenever the shadow expresses a doubt or question to something overheard, the courier gives a quite assurance of either confirmation or dismissal, depending on which language is overheard.
The lizard tongue is certainly a common one as well, but the shadow learns quickly to distinguish the more guttural and hiss-inclusive melody from the much more planer sounds of common. Feyspeak seems almost the opposite end of it, more melodious and lighter, so the shadow also learns to ignore that, in favour of the much more 'deadpan', perhaps even 'serious' tone (by comparison) of common.
. 6 . Atrum: 21 (1/5) ( Foreign Language - Common I: 6 )
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Post by Èdan on Jan 21, 2022 7:04:09 GMT -6
Even so, it's no easy feat to distinguish one from another, for some parts of all languages seem to have a root or similarity in another, and as much as the man tries to find areas with more heavy concentration of Common, the City's intrinsic nature as a melting pot means one can find anything in most parts, whether they were looking for it or not. As such, the first few days are the toughest to get through, for there's a constant little cold pinch on his neck when the shadow needs a confirmation, and he either nods or shakes his head in turn to signal the correct words to keep an eye out for.
More so the evenings, for the follow-ups. After the trek through town during the day is all said and done, the courier finally winds his way back to the park, where a little abandoned corner allows them time to hash over the lessons of the day in more peace and quiet (As well as directly to one another).
. 7 . Atrum: 21 (2/5) ( Foreign Language - Common I: 7 )
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Post by Èdan on Jan 21, 2022 7:09:15 GMT -6
He would speak a few phrases they overheard that day, and have the shadow interpret them through its gestures. A process that isn't really an exact science, given the limitations of the gestures, but even a general estimation is a considerable step forward in the overall scheme of things. After all, he doesn't need to have the shadow learn and study the exact grammar and phrasing of the language, given the inability to speak it. Merely understanding the meaning behind the words is enough. The philosophy of the words can be left to more vocal minds.
In turn, the shadow can also ask about something specific, about how one word or another might sound out loud. Once he's able to discern the question, he can speak the particular words or phrases out loud to it, enough time that the shadow is able to remember them. A process that requires a fair bit of repetition, considering the sheer volume of words at the world's disposal, though the shadow certainly doesn't seem lacking in the spirit to learn.
. 8 . Atrum: 21 (3/5) ( Foreign Language - Common I: 8 )
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Post by Èdan on Jan 21, 2022 7:15:04 GMT -6
Even so, it takes at least a week to get so far as to nail the basics. Roots and necessities such as 'me', 'you', 'them', along with a collection of everyday usage, such as 'yes', 'no', 'go', 'eat', 'walk', 'try', 'work'.. The shadow could probably string together a phrase similar to a toddler, were it to have the ability to actually speak, but in the long scheme of things that's still less than what they could convey through gestures alone. So more practise is needed and the process would have to continue.
While the work remains tedious in the exact nature of paying attention to details, and ensuring the proper steps are taken, the man does have to admit the experience itself is rather unique. There hasn't been much call in his life to teach someone else anything (In so direct a manner, at least. He's certainly tried to leave people with lessons, but those are largely on the person's themselves to discern) and the first thing it happens to is a sentient shadow no taller than his calf.
. 9 . Atrum: 21 (4/5) ( Foreign Language - Common I: 9 )
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