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Post by Noa on Oct 28, 2020 20:48:36 GMT -6
And yet, contrary to what he seemed to expect, the wind remained after he stopped, and blew out over the clearing like a wall of force. The targets all wavered on their posts, and one of the spindlier specimens snapped clean in half.
In the aftermath, the creature stared at it in surprise, then looked to Rabbit.
“It seems you have some innate ability for this,” said Rabbit. “I take it based on your reactions that you were not aware of this.”
At this, the creature’s face did an interesting series of changes, some subtle and some not. Rabbit, watching this transformation, tentatively labelled these as embarrassment, denial, a blustered sort of offense, and then a little preening, and back to the offended posturing again. “No, I must be mistaken,” she said, though she was not very much convinced.
The creature nodded, a little more assertively than was his usual manner.
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Post by Noa on Oct 28, 2020 20:48:51 GMT -6
“Yes, you have merely chosen not to show me. But let us dispense with that for the moment, and attempt to recreate it.”
This time the creature did not protest at all. This time, when the creature turned to face the target, his countenance was very serious indeed. It seemed that the revelation of his newfound abilities had set aside his impatience for flight, at least for the moment. “Harsh gust,” said Rabbit.
This time, with him focusing on the actual idea of whipping up the winds themselves, the result was much more dramatic. Another two of the dummy stakes snapped, and this time the trees bent with the weight of it too. The creature watched, admiring his own handiwork, and even seemed rather satisfied with it when it was over. The look he shared with Rabbit afterwards spoke of pride and pleasure, and though she was sure he would not admit it, had the air of someone who had encountered a very pleasant surprise.
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Post by Noa on Oct 28, 2020 20:49:01 GMT -6
“Good,” said Rabbit. “But I believe your ability is more mental in nature. Let us attempt to replicate the effect without the use of your wings.”
The creature raised no objections. The successes had buoyed him, and he was perfectly willing to try. Facing the target, and with a great deal more puffing himself up than the last two events, he made a little show of keeping his wings furled, even tightly pressed against his back. “Harsh gust,” said Rabbit, and the creature glowered at the target.
Very little happened.
There was perhaps a small breeze.
“Hmm,” said Rabbit.
The creature made a low rumble of dissatisfaction, and without any signal from Rabbit whatsoever, glowered at the target again. There was a little wind, but not much. A third attempt proved the same. The creature slapped the target with a sharp crack of his tail, not that this did much to improve his progress.
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Post by Noa on Oct 28, 2020 20:49:50 GMT -6
The target, which had been made for striking, was struck; and being made to remain steady against an onslaught of force, it remained exactly where it was, unbudged by the force of the creature’s annoyance.
“We may be taking the wrong approach to this,” Rabbit said. “It will be easier to start smaller, I think. I will erect the more delicate targets again, and we will try to strike them with a more concentrated burst of air.”
The creature laid his ears flat back at that suggestion. “No,” said Rabbit, “clearly this isn’t working. Let us give this alternative a few attempts, and then if it proves futile, we will try something else.”
The creature still seemed dissatisfied, but he made no move to fight her as she set up the smaller targets, which were little better than wooden crosses or scarecrows with target rings painted onto them.
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Post by Noa on Oct 28, 2020 20:50:02 GMT -6
Turning to look at the still sulking creature, Rabbit said, “There is no shame in practicing in smaller steps. We have done just as much before.” There was no response to this, so she made another attempt. “You may think of this as practicing accuracy where we had been practicing force before.” Again, nothing.
Thinking on it a moment, she said at last, “Then you are saying you cannot do it?” To which the creature finally looked at her, if only to glare, which might have carried a tangible threat some several months ago. Now, however, Rabbit dismissed it out of hand. It was only the indignation of a creature whose pride had been insulted, and who knew full well that she had done so with the intent to manipulate him to an end. And yet, as infuriating as it must have been to him, he could not let the challenge go unanswered after all.
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Post by Noa on Oct 28, 2020 20:50:23 GMT -6
He drew himself up to his full height and squared up with the target, which did look rather small and fragile in comparison to his sinuous bulk.
“Let us try something smaller,” said Rabbit. “An arrow of wind, to strike the target.”
The creature made an impatient gesture with one of his foreclaws, so Rabbit said, “An arrow, please.” The creature glowered at the target. At first, nothing happened. He glowered harder, and there did seem to be a slight… impact of some sort, though given the lightness of the target, the force required to produce that reaction was not very much.
Still, he did manage to achieve something, and everyone had to begin somewhere. “Perhaps if you attempt a thought exercise first,” said Rabbit.
At this point, the creature’s pride was wounded to such an extent that he no longer had it in him to act indignant or contemptuous of her proposals.
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Post by Noa on Oct 28, 2020 20:50:39 GMT -6
He merely sighed, seeming to sag with the weight of his disappointments, and submitted himself to whatever she wished him to try now. It was not a good sign of progress, but at least it did make things easier for Rabbit in certain ways.
“Close your eyes,” she said. The creature did. “Imagine the air. Imagine it condensing into a shape, long and narrow, like an arrow. Try to visualize it as clearly as you are able, and focus your energy into it.”
He must have been doing it. Rabbit had no way to see inside his mind, the way that Aster did with some of his creatures. Up until now, there had been no real need, and she suspected he would not have consented to such an intimate link anyway. But she knew, in this case, that he must have been doing it, for she could sense the slight distortion he was creating in the air a little in front of him.
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Post by Noa on Oct 28, 2020 20:50:57 GMT -6
“Now imagine setting it loose, and firing it away at great speed,” said Rabbit, sidestepping before she spoke so that she was out of its way.
The arrow flew.
“Open your eyes,” said Rabbit.
The creature did, and saw with some surprise that one of the targets had a noticeable nick in it. There was very little aiming involved in that instance, so it didn’t hit anywhere near the center of the target, but the ‘arrow’ had clearly struck with enough force to cut. That was such a significant improvement over his initial attempts that even he had not expected it.
“It is a matter of intense visualization, I suppose,” concluded Rabbit, having witnessed the results of their latest attempt, and revised her ideas in light of it. “The more clearly you can focus on the idea of it in your mind, the more tangible your efforts will be, perhaps.”
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Post by Noa on Oct 28, 2020 20:51:17 GMT -6
She was no great authority on the matter, but there was a little guidance for the teaching of more arcane abilities in her databases, even if they were rather more vague and sparse than the information she had on more concrete matters such as obedience or physical combat. She was fortunate to work with a creature of sufficient intelligence to understand her explanations when she gave them. It would be more difficult, she thought, if he had been less clever.
The creature seemed neither pleased nor annoyed with the revelation, though he had a thoughtful expression for a moment. Perhaps the success had buoyed him; once his moment of contemplation was over, he seemed eager to try again. Obligingly, Rabbit said, “Arrow.”
The creature’s eyes closed, and again, the arrow formed in the air. Now that she knew what to look for, Rabbit could sense it more clearly than the last time.
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Post by Noa on Oct 28, 2020 20:51:27 GMT -6
Again, the creature loosed it, opening his eyes quickly this time to see it strike the target.
His aim, she noted, was a little better this time. Maybe he had taken stock of the target’s position before he closed his eyes.
They repeated the exercise twice more with the creature’s eyes closed, but by that point there was no further point in practicing that way. It was clear that he could form a little arrow of wind, that the act itself was feasible; it was now a matter of getting him to do it with his eyes open, that he might not leave himself vulnerable in any situation where he might be called upon to do so under duress.
“This time, try to look at the target, or even the area in the air where you are envisioning the arrow forming,” Rabbit said. Even that would be better than nothing.
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Post by Noa on Oct 28, 2020 20:51:39 GMT -6
The creature seemed to concur with her that it was time to move on, and raised no fuss, taking it in stride as if he had expected as much himself. “Arrow,” said Rabbit.
The creature chose the target first, but the arrow he formed when he did so was weaker. On a second attempt, he chose to glower at the air instead, and the result was better, so Rabbit suggested that they work from there, solidifying his grasp on forming the arrow until it matched what he could do with his eyes closed.
Then, she said, “You did not need to see it when your eyes were closed. There is no reason you should need to observe it now.”
The creature’s eyes widened, then narrowed, and he gave her a look that was best interpreted as accusation, as if she had done him a disservice by pointing this out only now.
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Post by Noa on Oct 28, 2020 20:51:50 GMT -6
Perhaps she had. If the revelation had come earlier, they might have saved each other a few of these last repetitions. But what had happened had already happened, and in this case it was better late than never.
Rabbit chose to take a page out of his book and simply brush the matter aside. Not acknowledging it, she moved on: “Let us try this again, with you looking at the target. You will know where your arrow is, as you always do.”
The creature sighed, with the air of someone who had borne a great deal of small grievances, and focused his gaze on the target. “Arrow,” said Rabbit. Despite his wordless complaints, the creature focused when she gave the signal, and the arrow did form better this time. It was still a little unsteady, but another few rounds of practice had it forming in a consistent and stable manner.
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Post by Noa on Oct 28, 2020 20:52:00 GMT -6
Now it was just a matter of aim.
The creature’s aim was getting better, now that he was looking at the target. And Rabbit didn’t need to tell him to try and improve his accuracy. The creature understood the intended use of what he was learning, and he was motivated to improve on his own, as it was a tool in his own repertoire that he was refining. There was no sense in leaving it in a less useful state, when the application of a little more effort could elevate it into something better.
But there was also a limit to what one could handle in the space of a day. “Let us call an end to it here, and resume practice tomorrow,” Rabbit said. The creature looked almost reluctant to do so at first, but it had clearly taken more out of it than he had thought.
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Post by Noa on Oct 28, 2020 20:52:10 GMT -6
As soon as he stepped away from the target, she could see his eyes unfocus slightly, and the creature gave a low rumbling moan, bitten off at the end as if he hadn’t meant to let it slip out.
“You are tired,” said Rabbit. “This was something new. The strength will come with time, as it always has.”
The creature sighed, but for the first time today, it was neither in exasperation nor frustration. It felt more like an acknowledgement of the truth of it.
They parted ways, and Rabbit went through her chores with half her mind on the matter of the creature’s abilities, and what else might be done to foster them further. The arrow of wind had never actually been an end goal, though now that he knew how to do it, she could think of several situations already where a smaller strike might be more useful than a sweeping gust of wind.
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Post by Noa on Oct 28, 2020 20:52:24 GMT -6
But if he was capable of this, what else could he do? Even Aster hadn’t known much about the full extent of his capabilities at purchase, only that his parentage had extensive genetic modifications already, and that he had been difficult to contain. That last, she supposed, spoke of the raw power of the creature in question.
The creature himself hadn’t known either. That was, if anything, the more interesting revelation. But it did not help her situation, and as of now, the best they could do was discovery through little accidents, and extrapolation from there. At least now that Rabbit was thinking about it as a distinct possibility, she would be more vigilant for signs of other elemental affinities and the like. For now, however, there was still work to do on his control over wind.
The next day saw them in the same arrangement as the day prior.
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