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Post by Noa on Sept 15, 2019 18:18:10 GMT -6
"Bash," Rabbit said, and indicated one such tree.
The creature, to whom she had again explained the rough purpose of these coming sessions, did not greet this with much enthusiasm, but neither did he protest. He threw himself at the tree.
Here, at last, Rabbit could see just how much force he did manage to use in his attack, now that he had learned to perform it correctly. The tree did not splinter and fall, but the beginnings of cracks were left in the creature's wake when he moved away from it. "Again," she said, indicating the same tree. The damage was already done; it would be a waste to distribute it over more trees, before this one was spent.
The creature did as she directed, throwing himself at the tree again... and again... and again. It was dull work, but he must have seen the merit in it; she had seen him refuse tasks that he did not see the point of before.
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Post by Noa on Sept 15, 2019 18:23:04 GMT -6
In the process, she could also see him refining his technique, not to leverage more force but to reduce damage to himself. It was a subtle change, but she could see him testing, at first, to find the spot where his body was hardiest, and then, once he had found it, moving so that he took the impact on that part rather than anywhere else.
This process of toughening his hide was not something that could be rushed, however. Rabbit made sure to call the session to a stop well before she thought he would tire himself out fully. It was best to gradually work him through it, letting him recover before pushing further. Having nursed him back into reasonably good health once, she had no intention of jeopardizing his physical welfare again in pursuit of training, of all things. She would not have been a very good TROD if she did.
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Post by Noa on Sept 15, 2019 18:29:08 GMT -6
End: Stone Skin
They alternated too, between large trees and smaller ones with spindlier, whippish branches that were unpleasant in a different way. Eventually, when Rabbit felt that he was ready and might be able to bear it without too much difficulty, she began working large stones into the mix. These sessions never went on for very long, nor did they come up often, but that was more the product of Rabbit's caution than any indications of injury or discomfort on the creature's part.
And slowly, the effects became apparent: the creature's hide grew tougher, to the point where the difference became apparent to the touch. Eventually, Rabbit felt that the effect was sufficient enough to stop the sessions. She would have liked to consult Aster on the matter, but the creature still would not tolerate the presence of the man, so it was impossible for Aster to ascertain anything.
Still, it seemed well enough... Although Rabbit was hardly eager to test its efficacy in a live combat situation.
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Post by Noa on Oct 19, 2019 22:30:02 GMT -6
Rhys had a plan. Aster had been teaching him some things, and telling him more about where they lived, what they dealt with, things that Rhys might be expected to do in the future when he was ready. And that was good. That was what he wanted. The trouble was just that it wasn't happening fast enough. He was trying to be patient, he really was, but at the same time it was frustrating to feel like he was being… babied. He'd seen the little flower children in the house sometimes, mostly peeking around corners. He had also seen how Aster liked to fuss over them. But Rhys wasn't like that. Maybe it was the wings that made them look similar, that reminded Aster of his more vulnerable charges. Rhys didn't know. But what he did know was that he was capable of--- ready for more than what Aster had thus far permitted him to have. And that if things continued like this, he didn't have any idea when he would finally be able to contribute something useful. He had to take matters into his own hands, and prove that he was ready. He just… needed a little help first, was all. 1
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Post by Noa on Oct 19, 2019 22:30:40 GMT -6
Rhys, Hardy: Start
The TROD--- that was what Aster said she was--- was a good accomplice. She helped out sometimes, when Aster was teaching things. She had her own student too, though Aster didn't talk much about him, and warned Rhys not to go near him if Rhys could help it. Rhys supposed he was ignoring one of Aster's warnings now, since that student was with them, eyeing Rhys with a decidedly unimpressed gaze.
{Call me a student again and I'll teach you something you won't soon forget, little worm.}
Now that he was seeing the half breed up close, Rhys could admit that maybe Aster wasn't completely off the mark with that one. Rhys hadn't died on the spot or anything, but it was a bit of a stretch to say that he was comfortable in the half breed's presence. He was pretty big… and he had all those teeth… and there was just something about the way he held himself, as if he was dead sure he could snap you in half with no effort. Rhys shined away from him instinctively, but there was nowhere else to go if he wanted to talk to Rabbit. The best he could settle for was putting her between the two of them, which he did.
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Post by Noa on Oct 19, 2019 22:31:43 GMT -6
{I-I'm not here to talk to you,} Rhys said, trying to placate, but his nerves made it come out cut, abrupt. It felt like it would be worse to just ignore the half breed outright, so he had to say something, but... The half breed's expression changed, though Rhys couldn't tell if he was amused or offended.
Turning to Rabbit, Rhys continued his proposition. {There's this tournament, and I was thinking I could enter. For smaller creatures, like me. I thought maybe I could enter… maybe even win some fights,} he ventured.
"I have seen flyers for a petite class tournament, yes," said Rabbit. Rhys immediately brightened. That was a promising response. Now they just---
"I do not think this is an advisable course of action."
… And all of Rhys's excitement came crashing down as he heard those words. {But why?} said Rhys. It was hard to keep the plaintive note from his voice, even though he knew it only made him sound childish.
"Aster does not believe you are ready for whatever you wish to attempt," Rabbit replied. "I do not wish to go against his wishes, or to teach you things he did not mean for you to know."
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Post by Noa on Oct 19, 2019 22:32:13 GMT -6
{Yes,} drawled the half breed. {We do all live at his pleasure, after all.} Rhys's eyes flicked to him for a moment; it was hard not to, when he had spoken. But Rabbit didn't hear him--- couldn't. For the first time, he wondered what kind of relationship they had.
For just a brief moment, without even really realizing what he was doing, he reached toward the half breed with his mind---
--- only to be painfully rebuffed. The half breed's eyes were narrowed at him, Rhys realized as his vision cleared. {I am tolerating your presence, but my patience is finite,} said the half breed. {Do not test me. That man may put up with your petty little mind tricks, but if you do that again, I will end you. Is that clear?} His tone was still bored on the surface, but beneath that, Rhys could sense the cold finality of a serious threat. He couldn't repress the shiver it sent down his spine.
It took everything he had not to flee. That brief moment when he had been inside the half breed's mind, that too had been… No, he wasn't here for that. He was here to talk to Rabbit.
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Post by Noa on Oct 19, 2019 22:32:28 GMT -6
He held on to that thought like a drowning man clinging to driftwood, and tried to calm himself.
{I-If… If I don't do this, I don't think I'll get another chance. And then Aster will never let me do anything difficult or useful,} he said. {And it really can't be that dangerous, can it? They're not bigger than me. And if you teach me, I should be able to make a good showing of it, at the very least.}
Rabbit was silent. A little more desperately, Rhys tried again. {I know my abilities aren't all that suited to combat, but I just want him to know I can take care of myself if I run into trouble. If he sees that much, I think he'd… he'd feel better about giving me some real responsibilities. That's all I want, really.}
After her initial response, Rhys didn't know if he had much to hope for, but now Rabbit seemed to be thinking things over. At least, she didn't reject this outright immediately, and that felt as though it was a good sign. The half breed said nothing, but Rhys didn't quite dare look at him again. Or probe his mind again either, for that matter.
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Post by Noa on Oct 19, 2019 22:33:32 GMT -6
Rhys, Danger Sense: Start Riven, Stalk: Start
At last, Rabbit said, "Very well. I will instruct you in some beginning combat skills, if you truly desire to take this course of action."
{What? You will? Really?} Rhys shot up into the air and flew a short, joyous circle around her head, letting out a cheerful trill. {You won't regret it, I promise! I'll do my best!}
Beside them, the half breed let out a low rumble that might have been a sigh. Still, he made no move to stop either Rabbit or Rhys, seeming content merely to observe for the moment. Landing on Rabbit's head, Rhys said, {What are we doing first? We couldn't start today, could we?}
That was how they ended up in a little clearing in a patch of forest. Rabbit was holding a blindfold, which Rhys thought might have been for him, but she didn't make an immediate move to blindfold him. Instead, the half breed had come with her, and she was instructing him now.
"I will be teaching Rhys something similar to what I taught you before," Rabbit said. "However, this time I would like your assistance. You will also be learning. Your task will be to hide, and to attempt to take him by surprise."
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Post by Noa on Oct 19, 2019 22:34:02 GMT -6
Upon hearing this, Rhys froze. {Wait wait wait, he's going to try and attack me? Are you sure this is a good idea?} The half breed already didn't like Rhys, and while Rhys didn't think the half breed would kill him without any provocation, it wasn't really the kind of theory he wanted to put to the test either.
The half breed glanced at him now, and gave the facsimile of a smile, though all that it accomplished was showing off his teeth. Which had probably been the intent, actually.
"Please do not hurt him," Rabbit said. "He is not truly your opponent. He is merely a training partner."
{Well, you heard that,} said the half breed. {I'm being told to play nice. No one said anything about giving you a good scare though.}
Again, Rhys shuddered, but there was nothing more he could do about it. This was what Rabbit had decided, and given her reluctance earlier, he didn't want to push his luck. What if she changed her mind? He didn't like it, but he had just promised to be a good student. He had to at least try it once. {Okay,} he said reluctantly. {What am I doing then?}
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Post by Noa on Oct 19, 2019 22:35:55 GMT -6
That was easier said than done… Rhys thought it, but didn't say it out loud. He was the one who had asked for this, he reminded himself; and even Rabbit had taken some convincing to agree to teach him. And while it was a competition for the petite class that he was ostensibly preparing for, Rhys also knew that he would be expected to work with larger creatures not unlike the half breed eventually, so this was good practice no matter how he thought about it.
Still, why did it have to be that half breed? Just the thought of those jaws, or those eyes… If only getting what he wanted wasn't so… nerve wracking. But the deed was done, and there was nothing else for him to do but… wait for the worst.
Or, well, not quite. The point was to dodge the attack if he could sense it coming. Rabbit gave her signal to the halfbreed--- "Please begin stalking." The half breed gave him one last glance before disappearing into the foliage, and for the first time, Rhys wondered if the half breed was going to be any good at this. Was it possible that he wasn't? He was learning too, after all, and Rhys hadn't actually been blindfolded.
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Post by Noa on Oct 19, 2019 22:37:22 GMT -6
Still… Judging by the fact that Rhys had lost track of him, he figured the half breed couldn’t have been that bad. Maybe it had been a bit too much to hope for after all. Rhys kept his eyes peeled and his ears trained on his surroundings, on high alert for anything that might give the half breed away. The half breed had gone in at this point, but how far could he move if he had to keep quiet…?
Rhys thought about a great deal as he waited, but in the end most of those thoughts turned out to be moot. In the end, the warning he had was a great crash of noise as something burst out from the surrounding foliage--- just enough of a warning, and from enough of a distance, that he managed to duck out of the way after all.
The half breed landed right where Rhys had been a moment ago, then came up empty handed, tail lashing as the realization hit him. Rhys felt a small sense of satisfaction, both at his own success and for having been able to thwart the half breed.
Rabbit, observing them both, said only, “Let us try again. Begin stalking.”
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Post by Noa on Oct 19, 2019 22:38:49 GMT -6
If Rhys had thought this training was going to be anything other than efficient and to the point, he was finding out now that this wasn’t the case. Rabbit was a brisk task master, and the half breed, evidently used to her particular brand of training, wasted no time in disappearing back into the woods when she asked him to do so. If he felt any desire to soothe his own ruffled feathers, Rhys couldn’t detect it. And so Rhys had no choice but to put himself on guard again, with hardly any time to recover his own wits.
Now that he knew that the half breed had tells, however, he rested a little easier. Rather than trying to guess where the half breed was, Rhys settled for anticipating the moment right before the attack, when his attacker would give themselves away.
He didn’t have to wait long this time around. A slight rustling off to his left, and Rhys threw himself to the side. But that wasn’t quite enough this time; the half breed adjusted, and a claw swiped out, and Rhys had to hurriedly put on a burst of speed to get out of range.
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Post by Noa on Oct 19, 2019 22:39:06 GMT -6
“Better this time,” said Rabbit, but Rhys had the feeling that she meant the half breed, and not himself. Well, he’d just have to do better next time then. He tried to motivate himself as Rabbit gave the half breed the signal again. “Stalk.”
This time it took longer. At first, Rhys wondered if the half breed was just trying to find a better position to attack from, but the longer it went on, the more he understood that this wasn’t the case. It was a tactic to tire Rhys out, and it was working. It was hard to keep from thinking, and harder still not to get distracted, to momentarily let down his guard…
And then it happened. He heard the noise, but it was too late. The next thing he knew, he was being flung through the air--- no, he was being snagged by claws, caught in a grip just barely an increment above crushing. He’d been caught.
{Got you,} said the half breed. Rhys was no empath, but he didn’t have to be to sense the smugness in the half breed’s tone. For his own part, all he could manage was a muffled wheeze.
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Post by Noa on Oct 19, 2019 22:39:18 GMT -6
“That was very good,” said Rabbit. To Rhys, she said, “It is early yet, and this is a difficult skill to master. You will improve with time and practice, and eventually it will be more natural to you. But for now, it is important not to lose focus.”
{Right…} Rhys was a bit--- no, he was really shaken, but he picked himself up as best he could. And aside from being startled and a bit… squeezed… Rhys realized that he wasn’t actually hurt. The half breed had, against all odds, been more or less good on his word not to hurt Rhys.
That was funny, wasn’t it? Especially when he seemed so antagonistic earlier.
“Let us try again,” said Rabbit. “Stalk.”
By the time the session ended, Rhys had lost track of how many rounds they had gone for. What was fast becoming apparent was that the half breed was getting better at what he was doing. Rhys had less and less warning when the half breed chose to make his strikes now, and he had already had a hard time spotting the half breed while he was hiding before… It didn’t make sense how something so big could move undetected, but the half breed managed it, somehow.
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