|
Post by Noa on Feb 26, 2020 19:20:48 GMT -6
But that did not mean the target escaped unscathed. Joining the other marks on its surface was another set of furrows, each scored reasonably deep within the wood. The half breed was perhaps one of the largest of the creatures that had used it over the years, for there were not many marks that could parallel it in terms of depth.
"Very good," said Rabbit, though in all likelihood the creature had no need for such praise from the likes of her. "This is a sufficient result, Now we will practice so you may reproduce it more quickly." The creature had taken his time to wind up the attack, and likely time to aim as well, and while it was not exactly unacceptable, it was the sort of thing that could be reduced with practice, and the faster he could move, the more dangerous he would be in a live combat situation.
7
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Feb 26, 2020 19:21:48 GMT -6
This time the creature did not protest her verdict, and simply assumed a ready stance. Rabbit nodded once and said, "Rend." The creature raked his claws across the log once more, this time opting for speed, though it was clear that his accuracy suffered somewhat in the attempt.
"Try to strike the same place every time, or choose a specific spot to target," Rabbit said. "I will not pass judgement on your accuracy, but I trust that you yourself will be aware whether or not it was satisfactory. We will stop when you are content with your progress." Once again, the creature looked at the target with a determined air, not even sparing a glance to acknowledge Rabbit, but that was as it should be. She was no more than an accessory to his progress, after all.
"Very well, let us begin then. Rend." Rabbit issued the command, andthe creature lashed out once more.
8
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Feb 26, 2020 19:22:44 GMT -6
End: Rend
Having left the judgement of his work to the creature himself, Rabbit found that they remained there practicing the move for some time after the point where she would have pronounced it complete. The creature's standards were more exacting than her own, and thus motivated, he repeated the attack again and again, until the log was riddled with score marks. The furrow he had initially made became deeper as time went on, as he sometimes returned his focus to it and aimed to strike as closely to it as he could.
His speed and accuracy increased steadily with the practice, until it seemed to reach a plateau, at which point fatigue impeded further improvement. Even then, he struck a few more times before he finally relented.
"This will suffice for today," said Rabbit. "I believe you have learned this maneuver sufficiently well. Tomorrow we will try something else, building off what we did today."
9
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Feb 29, 2020 15:07:10 GMT -6
Start: Maul
With just a hint of exhaustion, the creature gave her a nod. With that, Rabbit took her leave of him for the day.
When they returned to the clearing the next day, the equipment that Rabbit had set up was different. Instead of the wooden target they had been working with yesterday, what she had set up for the creature today was a series of stuffed dummies, with ‘skins’ made of a sturdy woven cloth. It would tear, but not without some resistance, and was as analogous to skin as she could manage without actually resorting to leather, which would have been harder to repair and much less cost effective, considering the point of their presence here today was for the creature to rip them up.
The creature studied them with a mild sort of interest. In all likelihood he was working out what she was going to ask of him.
1
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Feb 29, 2020 15:07:22 GMT -6
“Yesterday we worked on a claw strike with an emphasis on force,” Rabbit explained. “Today we will aim to work on striking the foe with the intent to bleed them out. In a protracted battle, this type of blow will ensure that the opponent weakens over time.”
For some reason, after she spoke these words, the creature looked up at her with an expression of interest, as though she had said something unexpected. She had the sense that he seemed to be re-evaluating her somehow, but it was such a vague idea that she did not know how to broach the subject. A robot was not prone to fits of imagination, but she certainly could be mistaken, as her information processing was not perfect, and when she had limited inputs to work with, her success rates would be lower.
If it was of any real significance, she supposed she would find out in the coming days and weeks. For now, she said, “Is this acceptable?”
2
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Feb 29, 2020 15:07:35 GMT -6
The creature made a show of inspecting his claws, then looking back at her. Rabbit nodded. “I understand. Then let us begin.” Turning to the dummy, she pointed out certain areas that were marked out in a different color on the cloth. “I have marked this dummy with areas on a body that are prone to heavy bleeding. Any of these points are acceptable, but the largest and most prominent ones will be the easiest to strike in a fight, where an opponent will also be on the move and doing their best to impede you.” She pointed to a dummy that was marked out with several red areas, which the creature studied with a serious eye.
Rabbit knew that he listened to her even when he did not always appear to be paying attention, or perhaps serious respect, to what she was saying, but there were times when the flippancy and haughtiness gave way to something more like this.
3
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Feb 29, 2020 15:08:20 GMT -6
That told her that he had a real interest in this, and not for the first time, she wondered what exactly he hoped to gain by asking her to work with him on learning to fight. Certainly it was not to protect her, for she had no need of such services, and anyway she doubted he had affection to such an extent towards herself. And performance in the fighting pit of the city, as Rhys had wanted, was out of the question simply by the nature of how the place was run.
What, then, did he expect to fight? Was it merely to protect himself? But it was a question with answers that may well have been beyond the complexity of what he was able to communicate to her now. And while she could better prepare him if she had more details, they weren’t necessary for a general education in combat.
4
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Feb 29, 2020 15:08:47 GMT -6
Thus, she held herself back from that line of questioning, and merely waited until the creature seemed content with his cataloging of the areas that Rabbit had marked up. When he looked up again, she said, “These are largely universal on creatures with a similar skeletal structure to our own, that is, with four limbs, or occasionally six. On insects, the priority is to target the joins between their body segments, but I believe this is relatively obvious to see, if not necessarily to target." And, though she did not say so aloud, such does were not generally in the common way. Most creatures that the half breed might find himself fighting would follow a general anatomic structure not dissimilar to what she had constructed.
"Of course, there is always the issue of thicker hides and armor plating, but such issues should be visible when you assess an opponent," Rabbit added.
5
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Feb 29, 2020 15:09:01 GMT -6
The creature gave her a slight nod. He didn’t do this often, perhaps because his pride misliked such a direct acknowledgement, but it was clear that he did understand its meaning among humanoids, and when Rabbit herself used it. And on occasion he did demonstrate himself as clearly capable of it. Now it was an indication that he was finished with this explanation phase, and wished to move on to its practical applications.
“Very well. Maul,” said Rabbit.
The creature did not immediately move, taking a moment to himself, most likely to better aim his blow. After that pause, he raised one foreleg and raked his claws over the wooden dummy. His movements were accurate, though at this point they were neither fast nor very forceful, and the dummy’s hide was not torn at all by the end of it. But he was just getting a feel for the movement of it now, and such an outcome was not an issue at this point.
6
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Feb 29, 2020 15:09:11 GMT -6
Again, Rabbit said, “Maul.” And the creature picked up his other foreleg this time, bringing it down along the opposite side of the dummy.
“Maul,” said Rabbit, and the creature targeted a different area of the dummy. “Maul,” said Rabbit, and the creature did it again. He felt out each of the areas in turn, seeing how it would be to try and strike that particular region, committing them to memory. Only when he was satisfied did he attempt to apply more force, digging in his claws with the same slow steady speed but more deeply into the hide. On his first attempt, there was a long, drawn out tearing sound as he ripped apart the cloth, cotton stuffing spilling out of it as he did.
He had a look of unusual satisfaction on his face as he did so. Rabbit was reminded momentarily of a house cat damaging furniture, a thought which she kept to herself.
7
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Feb 29, 2020 15:09:22 GMT -6
“Yes,” she said, “that is the way of it. The deeper the wounds, and the wider you make them, the more likely the target is to bleed.”
The tip of the creature’s tail flicked one way and then the other, a small ticklish sign of pleasure. He was enjoying himself, in a way that Rhys had never seemed to when Rabbit had been tutoring the Felusine in how best to fight. Rhys’s training had largely been different, as his skill set was different and his size and anatomy not suited to some of what the half breed was learning. But the difference in their dispositions was also becoming more and more apparent to Rabbit.
“Let us try again,” said Rabbit. “Maul.” And this time, the creature took apart the other side of the dummy with that same slow, deliberate air. If anything, the sense of satisfaction he radiated was more noticeable this time.
8
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Feb 29, 2020 15:09:58 GMT -6
When the first dummy was rendered too torn to be of further use, they moved on to another, which the creature greeted with some relish. But now Rabbit said, “Please try to move faster this time.” An opponent would not stand still and let him do as he pleased, after all.
The creature shot her a look that might have held some mild irritation at having his fun cut short, but when she gave him the signal to maul the dummy, he did move more quickly than he had done. But in this case it was too much, too soon; he missed the mark slightly, some of the tear falling outside the zone. “Let us try again, with a little less speed and more focus on accuracy. Maul,” said Rabbit.
The practice went on and on that first day, until the creature had gotten a reasonable grasp of how to strike accurately.
9
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Feb 29, 2020 15:10:15 GMT -6
As his accuracy improved, the speed came more easily to him, as Rabbit suspected it would. She was left with a great deal of dummies to repair, but she would find time to do so before their next session. There were idle periods enough in her days as of yet for that.
On that next session, however, the dummies were of a homogenous color, with no more markings to tell the creature where to strike. The creature seemed wholly unfazed by this, and with an air of great condescension, struck the dummies without hesitation when Rabbit gave the signal. After a few repetitions of this, Rabbit unveiled the last challenge she would set to him before she pronounced this portion of their training complete.
“I will take one of the dummies and move with it,” she said. “Your task will be to strike the moving target. I trust that you will not strike me.”
10
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Feb 29, 2020 15:10:29 GMT -6
His accuracy had improved on a stationary target to the point where she felt that this was achievable for him, and he had generally avoided attempting to harm her intentionally. She understood that she was of use to him, and he was sufficiently reasonable that he would see the inconvenience posed to him if she had to undergo extensive repairs.
The creature did look a little surprised by her proposal, but then he gave a flicking shrug of his wings, signalling that he was willing to at least humor her for a round or two. “Good,” said Rabbit. “Then we will begin.” She went to one of the dummies and activated her wings, moving so she hovered over its back before she picked it up by cords she had attached to it.
Turning back to the creature, she saw once more the surprise in his eyes. And then a momentary flash of something she had not seen before.
11
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Feb 29, 2020 15:11:00 GMT -6
It was gone before she could put a name to it, however; the creature forced his attention to the dummy, though his gaze had sharpened, and a hard, steely mood come over him, a drastic change from the almost playful satisfaction of the day before.
But he still seemed willing to work, and so Rabbit did not set the dummy down again. “Maul,” she said, and flew off.
The moving targets were more challenging, simply by virtue of being moving targets, but the creature was sufficiently fast that they did not pose a significant problem for him for long. And here, at last, all the training for accuracy paid off. Even if not all of his attempts landed inside the areas that Rabbit had painted as targets, the bulk of the gashes were within the designated zones. And perfect accuracy had never been Rabbit’s ultimate aim when she set out with this plan.
12
|
|