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Post by Noa on May 5, 2019 11:35:19 GMT -6
She guided him in much the same manner that she did before. He was still not very good at it, but there was an air of determination to his efforts, and he improved faster than he had the last time. Rabbit had the distinct impression that he was well and truly putting his mind to it, and thinking about what did and did not work this time around. And when she suggested they stop, he only huffed and kept going without her help.
He did not last very much longer after that; he was still in recovery, even if he was doing a great deal better now. But it was an admirable effort.
It was as though a switch had been flipped. After that, the creature was no longer reluctant to go out into the water. Some days, Rabbit could see him steel himself for it, but even then, his movements were always deliberate as he made his way in.
(60)
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Post by Noa on May 5, 2019 11:36:07 GMT -6
He swam, at first in his ungainly manner, and often with her help, but then more and more often without it.
When he was more or less able to control where he wanted to go, Rabbit decided to ask something else of him. “Can you hold your breath?” she asked. To drive the point home, she reached out and motioned as though she were covering his nostrils, though she did not quite make contact, and then she crouched so her head was submerged, before rising again.
She had to repeat the motion once more for him to understand, but he didn’t seem daunted by the prospect once he figured out what she was asking. He submerged his head, and Rabbit submerged herself as he did so, to observe.
Once she did, she recognized a little his lack of unease. Some of it must have been the fact that he was accustomed to the water by now, but she noted that his eyes were open, and that there was a bit of membrane over them--- a transparent inner eyelid, the way some creatures had. He must have been able to see perfectly fine.
(61)
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Post by Noa on May 5, 2019 11:36:26 GMT -6
(End: Swim)
And of course the concept of holding one’s breath was probably not novel to him, or at least not difficult to grasp. When he saw that her attention was on him, the creature even blew a small plume of bubbles.
It was something of a revelation. After that, the creature swam most of the time with his head submerged. Rabbit did not know what exactly he was looking at, but he seemed to greet the task with something like enjoyment for the first time, rather than merely doing it to reach some sort of goal.
After that, his improvement progressed by leaps and bounds. He would never be a truly aquatic creature, but it was good exercise, and in the meantime, she did not have to worry about him drowning unless they were in particularly dire circumstances and his energy reserves failed him.
It was a good outcome, as far as she was concerned.
(62)
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Post by Noa on May 11, 2019 0:26:18 GMT -6
(Start: Accept Sudden Movements, Accept Noise)
Now that the creature was out and about, however, Aster brought up a slightly more uncomfortable topic. “You’re going to have to desensitize him,” Aster said, standing in the wide stretch of grass and wildflowers between the estate house and the old barn. Aster didn’t go near the barn itself these days, and he kept all the other creatures away, especially anything smaller and more vulnerable.
“Desensitize him,” Rabbit repeated.
“Mhm. Look, if you don’t want him tame, he doesn’t have to be tame. At this point he’s your problem. But I need to know that if one of the other things living here--- or, you know, god forbid, me--- spooks the damn thing, he won’t take their head off immediately.” Aster’s face was darkened by a scowl. He had little intent of interfering when the creature had already, as he had put it, ‘established’ a connection with Rabbit, but Aster had come in to check on him at one point and found himself very unwelcome.
(63)
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Post by Noa on May 11, 2019 0:27:15 GMT -6
“I see your point,” said Rabbit. It was difficult not to, when put into such terms.
“You can do it all at once, or settle for one thing at a time, but if I were you, I’d prioritize noise and sudden movements. I’ve been keeping the Hara inside the house, but I don’t think I’m going to be able to manage it for too much longer.” Aster shook his head. “You know how easily Juni and Claire get bored, and Dami’s a clever little bastard when he wants to be.”
With those parting words, he left, heading back towards the house. Rabbit, then, was left to contemplate her options. To desensitize the creature was all well and good in theory, but she had precious little in the way of guidance.
What was she supposed to do? Annoy him until he stopped noticing the nuisance? This… wasn’t a completely invalid approach, but she wondered if she would find success there.
(64)
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Post by Noa on May 11, 2019 0:27:26 GMT -6
Thus far, from what she had learned of the creature, he bore her efforts better when he could see some purpose to them. Only when she framed it in terms of an advantage to him did he acquiesce, or at least acquiesce with better grace, and expend some effort himself towards realizing what she wanted of him.
How was she going to frame this in a way he would accept?
Nevertheless, she approached the barn. She could begin on her work, even if she was not sure how best to begin. She would find out by doing it.
By this point the creature had grown used to her comings and goings, and often paid her no mind until she gave him a reason to do so. She found him lying idle in the barn, his head angled so he could stare out the loft window, though what entertainment he found in a lone patch of sky, she could hardly imagine.
(65)
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Post by Noa on May 11, 2019 0:28:17 GMT -6
Perhaps he was thinking of flying. He did have wings. She had never seen him use them, and he certainly couldn’t now, though they were very nearly mended from his accident. But that was a thought for another time.
She contemplated dashing to his side to see if she could startle him that way, but he had grown used enough to her that she might not be the best candidate for it. As for noise, however, that was easier. After a moment’s deliberation, she decided not to use a loud noise straight away. Whatever he may think of himself, Rabbit knew the creature to have had a difficult history. His violent reactions when they had first become acquainted also rather dissuaded the use of shock tactics. As such, she merely emitted a low but audible hum at first.
It was not the kind of noise that was low enough to go wholly unnoticed, and the creature’s senses were not so dull as to ignore it either.
(66)
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Post by Noa on May 11, 2019 0:28:42 GMT -6
He spared a glance in her direction. For now, it was no more than idle curiosity for the change, as far as she could tell, for she had never done anything quite like this before. But there was no adverse reaction yet.
Now that she had his attention, Rabbit tried increasing the volume. It did not take long for the sound to reach an uncomfortable degree. At that, the creature put back his ears, and though he did not snarl, his nose did wrinkle in distaste; and when she did not immediately cease, his lips parted over his teeth, bared to her as a warning.
She stopped. As she did, so did he.
He watched her for a moment, in which nothing happened. Then, slowly, she began emitting the hum again.
He waited just long enough for the hum to begin growing in volume, then began to approach her in earnest, likely to attempt something else to force her to stop.
(67)
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Post by Noa on May 11, 2019 0:29:51 GMT -6
Rabbit did not allow him to do so; she ceased before he quite reached her. Partly it was to set things up so he would not 'fail', but she also had little desire to find out what he might have done if she had not. But he was very clearly unhappy now, his tail lashing. His gaze, as it bore into her visual receptors, seemed to ask what she meant by all this.
She still hadn’t found a way to explain it to him, that she might make it amenable for him to learn this thing she wished him to do.
At last, she shook her head. “Perhaps this is not the way to do it. I will think on this before I return.” With that, she subsided into her regular routine of reading to him. He let her do it, though he snuck glances at her every so often, as though he suspected she might yet try something strange again.
(68)
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Post by Noa on May 11, 2019 0:30:29 GMT -6
Rabbit was as good as her promise. In fact, she thought on the matter for most of the night. One of the advantages of not needing to sleep was that it afforded her a great deal of time to think. And being a robot, she was not prone to the unpleasant thoughts that sometimes dogged the minds of organic beings. If there was no problem to be worked over, she merely existed, her cognitive processes running at their barest minimum in the background.
That night, however, she thought on the matter, and came to a conclusion that she found satisfactory. The next day saw her making the appropriate arrangements with Aster.
There were a great deal of arrangements to be made to do what she wanted to do. He had scratched his head when she presented the idea to him, and mentioned that it would take some time, but he did not refuse her.
(69)
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Post by Noa on May 11, 2019 0:30:39 GMT -6
The whole of it came to fruition some days later. Rabbit went to the barn, preparations having been made, and when she led out the creature to go for what had become his habitual swim, the two of them came out on a strange scene.
Scattered all across the grass were dummies of various sizes and shapes. It was clear that they were all intended to mimic some creature or another, humanoids included, though some of them were of better make than others. And there were a lot of them--- not so many as to make it difficult to maneuver through them, but enough that it was difficult not to pass within their vicinity as the two of them made their way to the lake.
She could see the creature’s eyes widen, the wedge shaped head rising high on the long neck. He didn’t quite startle, but the surprise was plainly evident all the same.
(70)
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Post by Noa on May 11, 2019 0:31:22 GMT -6
His reaction to the presence of the dummies upon laying eyes on them was not, however, a fear reaction in and of itself. After a moment, he recovered, and began slowly picking his way through them, following in Rabbit’s wake. He wasn’t ignoring them, however; in fact, much the opposite. As he passed close to one, he bent his head to it, intending, apparently, to investigate further.
Rabbit didn’t know if Aster was somewhere nearby, orchestrating them. But by some coincidence, that dummy chose that moment to twitch wildly and emit a shrill, screaming noise.
What followed might not necessarily have been called a fear reaction either, but it could definitely have been called a startle. The creature’s head snapped up, and his tail whipped about, as if to strike the thing. Rabbit stepped in only because she had been alert and ready for it, and blocked his tail with her arm.
(71)
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Post by Noa on May 11, 2019 0:32:15 GMT -6
His blow was not inconsequential. Even weakened, and even with his tail, she felt the damage of it. For his part, he seemed puzzled--- and perhaps a touch vexed--- that she had stepped in at all. She could read the question in his gaze.
Fortunately, this time she had a justification at the ready.
“This… is also a type of strength. Strength of mind.” She paused for a moment, finding the words again. “To be free from fear is its own form of resilience.”
She could see the creature’s ears go back, something stubborn in his expression. Perhaps he disliked her choice of words. Perhaps he thought that fear was unbecoming of something like himself. Rabbit considered her words again, then said, “It does not have to be fear. Consider it mastering yourself. If you can control your own reactions, whatever they are, then they will have no power over you.”
(72)
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Post by Noa on May 11, 2019 0:32:32 GMT -6
There was, Rabbit thought, the very real possibility that she was coming to some understanding of the creature, or at least what drove it. Having said her piece, she could see him subsiding somewhat, as though he were considering her words. He did understand, then--- some, if not all, and now, if not before. She had been reading to him, speaking to him, with great regularity for some time now. Aster had remarked upon the creature’s intelligence, so the development was not very surprising.
Of course, the dummies were not made to be idle. All of them were live. Another one went off just then, and she could see the creature twitch.
His tail thumped down into the dirt afterwards, in consternation.
“It will take time,” Rabbit cautioned. But he did not dignify those words with a response.
It did take time. Their progress the first day could be said to be negligible.
(73)
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Post by Noa on May 11, 2019 0:32:47 GMT -6
The creature did not stop startling, despite ready evidence of his efforts, through the whole trip to the pool, and then back again. Even Azalea joined in, though Rabbit wasn’t sure whether her help had been enlisted, or if she had merely noticed and joined for the sport of it herself. Regardless, at several points during the swim, she would pop up or make some great splash not very far from where they were.
The creature seemed to realize it was her, and liked this even less than he had liked the dummies. Rabbit couldn’t know what his true thoughts were, but she suspected it had something to do with the presence of intent. The dummies, however much of a nuisance they might present, were not alive in and of themselves, and were not choosing to do what they did. Azalea had made the conscious decision to startle him, or at least to make an attempt of it.
(74)
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