Star
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Jul 22, 2022 22:44:29 GMT -6
Post by Star on Jul 22, 2022 22:44:29 GMT -6
No matter why he did what he did, The Trader, as everyone knew him, had curated a respectable hoard. I would likely never understand what made him value some items over others, but I could respect the process. I wondered what he would do when he had finally accumulated his perfect collection. Would he one day cease trading? It was a mystery I did not anticipate I would ever know the answer to.
I looked through the guide on creatures released by the labs, and though it was not as complete as I would have liked, I was confident that Ingway wasn’t in it. His species clearly came from somewhere other than the labs directly. Whether he was imported from an exotic land or manifested of pure magic more locally, I did not know.
With so many mysteries surrounding him, the first thing I was determined to do was to understand what I did know about him.
[16.5, 0.6]
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Star
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Jul 22, 2022 22:45:09 GMT -6
Post by Star on Jul 22, 2022 22:45:09 GMT -6
The only information I had to start with was that his species was called a Nebuli. This was on his tag when I purchased him, so I could only assume that it was true. As odd as he was, The Trader did not usually make mistakes. He knew what he had and what it was worth.
Despite his magical appearance, Ingway did have many features in common with terrestrial creatures. He had a long body with a tail, like myself, and four limbs underneath his body. He had claws, fangs, and forward facing eyes, indicating that he was a predator. His body was covered with what looked like soft fur, not that I was able to feel it to confirm. Large decorative antlers gave the impression that he might be of a social species, at least in so much as they had someone to fight or impress. All of that was relatively straightforward.
[16.6, 0.8]
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Star
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Jul 22, 2022 22:45:30 GMT -6
Post by Star on Jul 22, 2022 22:45:30 GMT -6
Now there was just the matter of the translucent body and mane made of stars. I had met creatures with bodies made of scales, fur, feathers, skin, rocks, and even gemstones, but not once had I known a creature not to have a body at all. While Ingway appeared by most observations to be a fairly typical mammal and predator, he was anything but.
Any attempts to make contact with him were completely unsuccessful. He could be seen and heard, but not touched. It was as if one was grasping at nothingness, reaching out into the thin air. I wondered if he was even really ‘real’ or merely an illusion. As he reacted to my existence, however, and my fruitless attempts to feel his fur for myself, I came to the conclusion that he did, in fact, actually exist. In what capacity he was part of my world was still unclear, however..
[16.7, 1]
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Star
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Jul 22, 2022 22:45:54 GMT -6
Post by Star on Jul 22, 2022 22:45:54 GMT -6
Along his back was a flickering wave of otherworldly flame. It constantly flowed and swirled like galaxies around their stars. Looking into it was like staring straight into the heart of an aurora across the night sky. It was beautiful and entirely unlike anything else I had ever seen. The air around the starry mist was cool to the touch, like the cold mist that clung to the ground on a nearly freezing morning.
Ingway was clearly magical. Anyone who took just one look at him could easily tell as much. However, there was still the matter of how to best display that for an audience. I would have to push him a bit in order to find out what his capabilities were, then learn how to get him to do it on command. A daunting task, indeed.
It was always a challenge to get a creature to obey a command. While I had a bit of practice so far, it was still something I was still learning about.
[16.8, 1.2]
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Star
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Jul 22, 2022 22:47:25 GMT -6
Post by Star on Jul 22, 2022 22:47:25 GMT -6
Each creature had its own quirks that had to be carefully navigated. Some were pleased to be given treats or praise and needed little other coaxing. Some were more stubborn or difficult to incentivize for some reason or another. If only they could just tell me what they wanted…
I was sincerely hoping that Ingway was a creature that responded well to praise alone, as I had little else to offer him. I couldn’t just scratch under his chin like I did for most creatures. I brought a standard variety of treats with me to try out, but I was not expecting much to happen with those. It seemed unlikely that a creature who did not have a physical body would want a treat, but I was prepared to test out my assumption regardless.
We headed down to the public park where there was ample free space to do some experimenting.
[16.9, 1.4]
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Star
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Jul 22, 2022 22:47:58 GMT -6
Post by Star on Jul 22, 2022 22:47:58 GMT -6
I was pleased to find that Ingway followed me all the way there without fuss, and I only had to get his attention now and then to make sure he was still on track. The more I interacted with him, the more I learned about how intelligent he was. This was a great sign for what was to come, as I was already struggling with how to motivate him.
A creature who was curious and attentive to those around it was easier to motivate than one who was unobservant. Perhaps it wouldn’t be such a difficult task to teach Ingway a routine after all. He seemed perfectly capable of understanding the world around him, and he reacted well to the simple gestures I used to communicate.
I found a secluded place within the park behind a line of trees where we could practice in peace away from all of the other people who were there with their creatures.
[17, 1.5]
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Star
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Jul 22, 2022 22:48:25 GMT -6
Post by Star on Jul 22, 2022 22:48:25 GMT -6
“Now it is time,” I said to Ingway. When I spoke, I could see him look up at me as if he was trying to learn what I was saying. Another great sign.
“I need to know more about you,” I said aloud. He reacted well to the sound of my voice, so I figured that if I kept talking, I could keep his attention.
While I had attempted before to make contact with Ingway’s fur, I wanted to see if I could test the limits of his physical existence. Were all parts of him the same, or did he have some attachment to the physical world? First I reached out to touch him on the head between his horns. I figured that if there were any part of him that was solid, it was likely to be his horn.
To my surprise, Ingway ducked away from my touch, allowing my claws to go through just the tips of his horns. I pulled my claw away as I felt the cold burn of his starry mane.
[17.1, 1.8]
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Star
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Jul 22, 2022 22:48:51 GMT -6
Post by Star on Jul 22, 2022 22:48:51 GMT -6
Did he not want to be touched? If he wanted me to not interact with him, he was doing a good job of showing that.
“My apologies,” I said. I did consider for a moment that it was rude to reach out and grab a creature without warning. I could see why he was upset, even if I did not intend to offend him.
I decided upon a more traditional approach. When meeting a new creature, it was a good strategy to make oneself look small and less intimidating, and to coax them to interact rather than forcing the interaction upon them. I bowed slightly and held out my claw at arm’s length so that Ingway could come to me and investigate. If he approached me instead of the other way around, perhaps he would be a bit more personable.
Ingway paused and dropped his defensive posture after a moment of consideration.
[17.2, 2]
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Star
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Jul 22, 2022 22:49:14 GMT -6
Post by Star on Jul 22, 2022 22:49:14 GMT -6
The shift in my body language changed his demeanor rather quickly. I would need to remember this for any future attempts to get to know new creatures. Just because he was physically different from most creatures didn’t mean that he was actually behaviourally different as well. Very interesting.
I made a soft noise like a chime being rustled by the wind. It was the default sound I made when trying to be comforting toward a creature. Ingway reacted to it by tilting his head, watching me carefully. I stayed still and waited patiently for him to decide what he wanted to do.
Eventually, Ingway was more curious than he was afraid, and he moved close enough to me to touch my outstretched claw. I could feel the cool mist of his mane, but otherwise he went right through me. It made the mane on the back of my neck stand up.
[17.3, 2.2]
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Star
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Jul 22, 2022 22:49:34 GMT -6
Post by Star on Jul 22, 2022 22:49:34 GMT -6
I wasn’t too fond of the feeling, but I made a point not to react too strongly, lest I sour my relationship with him again.
As he passed through my hand I began to wonder what kind of effect he could have on the real world, if any. It was like he both existed and didn’t at the same time. Could he concentrate himself enough to become solid for a moment? Could he use the intense cold of his chilling mane to freeze the air around him? These were the kinds of questions I wanted to investigate while we were here.
“You are quite a mystery indeed, Ingway,” I said. He looked at me when I spoke as if he were trying to understand what I was saying. I wasn’t sure that he did, but I would make an attempt to speak to him now and then in case he caught on to anything important.
[17.4, 2.4]
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Star
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Jul 22, 2022 22:49:53 GMT -6
Post by Star on Jul 22, 2022 22:49:53 GMT -6
I remembered that I brought treats with me, so I pulled them out for a test of what he might like. Since he appeared to be a carnivore, the first thing I tried were some bits of jerky. I held it out at arms length, and though he sniffed at the treats, he only looked away as if he wasn’t interested. With that, I grabbed out some vegetables, then leaves, and finally some seeds. None of those were of any interest to him, either. He seemed confused as to why I kept offering things to him, so I decided that would be enough of that.
What I had learned was that Ingway was fairly curious. This should make him easy to teach, I believed. He was clever enough to follow what was going on and curious enough to investigate new things. With those two traits I knew I could show him things without having to offer a tangible reward.
[17.5, 2.6]
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Star
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Jul 22, 2022 22:50:11 GMT -6
Post by Star on Jul 22, 2022 22:50:11 GMT -6
Which was very fortunate in fact, as I still did not know how to offer him such a reward. Perhaps there was a way, and I was determined to keep trying to figure it out, but it wasn’t necessary in order to get started.
Now that I knew he was unlikely to take any treats, I decided to try something else to catch his attention. I lifted my claw above his head and summoned a ball of light into it. I rolled the ball around in my claws, showing its brilliant silver luminescence off to Ingway. He watched it and tilted his head to one side, and then the other, trying to get a better angle on what he was seeing.
“Can you do anything like this, Ingway?” I asked. Sometimes I could find out what creatures were capable of by showing them something and allowing them to attempt to mimic me.
[17.6, 2.8]
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Star
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Jul 22, 2022 22:50:32 GMT -6
Post by Star on Jul 22, 2022 22:50:32 GMT -6
To my surprise, Ingway reached out the long claws on his forepaw and tried to touch the light. As soon as he came in contact with it, he recoiled instantly. He was clearly surprised by something about it. Could he feel it somehow? This idea was very intriguing indeed.
I pulled the light back away from him and looked at it myself. It glowed faintly like a moon that appeared before the sun fully set. I was always so proud of my ability to conjure moonlight and the way it glittered off of my scales. It wasn't powerful magic compared to some that I had witnessed, but it was truly beautiful.
I closed my claw into a fist, dispensing the moonlight so I could focus again on Ingway. “You aren’t hurt, are you?” I asked. He was watching my claw still, even though the light was gone. He did not appear to be hurt, as he was acting calmly and didn’t look any different than before.
[17.7, 3]
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Star
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Jul 22, 2022 22:50:51 GMT -6
Post by Star on Jul 22, 2022 22:50:51 GMT -6
The light was capable of doing damage if I wished it to, but I didn’t think that it would in such small concentrations. Then again I had never met a creature quite like Ingway, so I was trying my best to be prepared for anything. Given that he seemed unharmed, I felt okay to bring the light back for further investigation.
This time I put the light gently onto the grass in front of me, between the two of us. That way Ingway could interact with it safely without my influence. I wasn’t sure that would make any real difference, but I wanted to give him the best chance possible to figure it all out.
As I predicted, Ingway approached the light again, this time reaching out and tapping it. To my surprise, the ball of light began to move, just a little bit. It was as if he was pushing it around from the plane of magic in which he existed.
[17.8, 3.2]
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Star
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Jul 22, 2022 22:51:06 GMT -6
Post by Star on Jul 22, 2022 22:51:06 GMT -6
So he could interact with some things, they just had to be things that touched the magical realm where he existed. Some things, such as magical moonlight, could exist in both places at once.
I wished that I knew more magic so that I might provide further tests about his ability to interact with things. Though it wasn’t the way I had expected this situation to go, I was glad that I had tried it. I learned a lot from just that one interaction. Far more than I had while wasting my time with all of the treats I brought with me. Perhaps next time I had a creature to learn about, I would start with a different approach.
“I see,” I said to Ingway, remembering my promise to myself to speak to him more. “So you can feel the moonlight, can you? I wonder if you could also feel other things. Can you feel me?”
[17.9, 3.4]
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