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Post by Lethalia on Jul 3, 2021 16:35:30 GMT -6
|I don't need to do shopping-stuff, thank you though. No, you see...| Pausing in search of succinct enough words for a drake, she reached, |You remember Fawn, right?| An affirmation; he had liked Fawn, enough for Leth to ponder if their blood relation had any bearing on that. With drakes, she'd take whatever blessings she could get. |Well... she's going to be coming back. With us.||Fawn - here? Now go,| he surmised, wings extending as he did. Needed to get a good stretch in before taking on such a long flight! "Lay back down, Vidarr," she told him, half expecting the drake to already be in the air and on course to where he thought was the right location. Very likely intentionally jostling her as he laid back down, he just didn't quite get why humans need any sort of preparation to go on a several day journey. |Fawn is precious to me. Precious like Meade and Ardith are, to you. Like you are to me.| Lethalia continued, hoping the comparison would make things click together for him. If nothing else, he knew how precious his daughters were for all she tried to instill it in him. |Please, just... I need you to work with me just this one time,| she finally asked, a sentiment she often wouldn't even attempt with the drake. |I'm sorry these things are going to be boring - but we can go adventure someday after, and see some of my friends and mates, and bring back Fawn.|
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Post by Lethalia on Jul 3, 2021 16:36:34 GMT -6
|Oh. Okay.|It took every fibre of her being to not come back with excuse me, what? because she didn't want to give Vidarr any grounds to begin to disagree... but was that actually compliance?? Lest she provide him the ammuntion neccisary to take it back, the satyr veiled her surprise the best she could. It wasn't that she couldn't win a battle of wits with a drake, but rather someone who engages with such a debate with a drake had already lost. An argument with an idiot was one already lost by simply participating. Did anybody else negotiate with their creatures? Probably not. |Well... great!| she replied as quickly as her churning brain would allow, though Vidarr seemed to recognize something of what he'd caused. |Aight, let's get going then!| As she'd hoped, Vidarr rose to his feet and his wings spread in turn, and she immediately corrected him, |Remember I said we were staying on the ground?| Those words were the right ones to cause the drake to look like he'd made a massive mistake in agreeing, but his wings fell back to his sides. |It's real easy. See, when I, uh, squish you,| she put experimental pressure on Vidarr's barrel with her knees, |Just start walking!| stop|1 go|1
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Post by Lethalia on Jul 3, 2021 16:36:59 GMT -6
This was not going to be like training an equine. Not only was much harder squeezing a drake's ribcage in any meaningful way - let alone one Vidarr's size - but the hooved ones didn't tend to give her a side-eye when going through the motions. Probably because she made the choice to not talk directly to those ones. |I promise it's not hard.| Vidarr grunted, but his head swiveled forward. It wasn't a matter of the difficulty, but more how bored he was going to get. This was going to be like the gym, wasn't it? Sitting there trying to squeeze the drake's barrel, nothing made her feel like a mere tickbird on a lizard's back quite like trying to make this giant take notice of her. Vidarr was quite more used to her being a passive companion to travel with - maybe not a quiet one, but also one that didn't demand exactly where they flew, let alone dictating they stay on the ground. |Now, feel that?| she prompted, a slight relief washing over her when he confirmed. This was going to be one hell of a workout for her thighs - as if she needed those to get any bigger. stop|2 go|2
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Post by Lethalia on Jul 3, 2021 16:38:32 GMT -6
"Then go," she commanded, trying to give the drake another squeeze. Vidarr was rather unmoved by her efforts. "C'mmon asshole." With an additional hoof to the side. Apparently that was the sufficient motivation this time around, the drake tossing his head skitter forward several yards - it seemed a reflex to bein assaulted from above more than anything. It was kind of forward progress... "Keep goin', though," Lethalia jabbed, rolling the hard edge of her hoof across him again. |Sooner you get it, sooner I'll leave you alone.| His glowering was more strongly felt than it could be seen, the drake spurred into ambling forward - veering to avoid a fence in his way. Well, this would show him to ever agree to something again! |Now, see the end of the fence over there?| she prompted, now that Vidarr was traveling along her property's fenceline. The far corner approached them, banking off to their left. |We're going to stop there, when I tell you to.| stop|3 go|3
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Post by Lethalia on Jul 3, 2021 16:38:46 GMT -6
That was a new one to him, too. Normally even when they were flying together, she didn't often call for him to just stop. Most of the time she'd be happy to shirk her chores and remain in the updrafts with him until he got tired of it. Clearly it was a good way to skip out on chores, when they could easily be up there all day. But metering the drake in any way - his flying, his strength, his territory - was nothing she'd ever... done. Was there something wrong now? Had he a little more mind about him, Vidarr might've thought he'd done something wrong. He seemed to muster enough 'knowing' to only be able to wonder - What was her deal? |Right here, stop before you crash into the fence,| she told him smartly, calling out a "Woah!" aloud at the moment he realized there was no choice but to stop - she hadn't left him any room to veer away when they headed directly into the corner of the paddock. |Not bad!| It wasn't like he was really following any commands, or that his stop had been graceful. In fact, stopping such a mass usually found Vidarr nearly skipping to slow himself down in the soft dirt, leaving furrows where his hind claws tried to find purchase. But they did stop, and that's what maattered. Aside from, you know, refinement. And consistancy. And... well, you know what, he still stopped; that right there was worth some points for this dude, might as well not minimize it. Vidarr lv|133 ly|89 stop|4 go|4
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Post by Lethalia on Jul 3, 2021 16:39:01 GMT -6
Lethalia let Vidarr work out for himself how to get out of the corner, head whipping to the left and then the right, almost as if he couldn't brain out where to go with his chest right up against the fence corner. At least it was still standing. It took quite a moment of just sitting there waiting for him, an embarrassing amount of time for him to think of simply backing up. Even then, he wasn't able to do so without backing right into the tree trunk up against the fence. She buried her face in her hands to gather herself, because if she was going for a real facepalm she was going to knock herself out. Good thing she raised the brute from the shell, for sometimes it felt like only a mother's love could cope with him. Vidarr was like... well, his intellect didn't seem to be a lot different than training a lot of the horses she had in the past. That said, he was probably one of the dumbest 'horses' she'd ever trained. Her patience might appear boundless, Vidarr was one of the things that could manage to run it dry in pretty short order. The idea that he was just an idiot horse made her grin to herself (that look that Vidarr always hated) and replenished her energy to work with him. After all, stupid horses could have a hard time learning a new discipline than their first - some couldn't ever manage it. stop|5 go|5
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Post by Lethalia on Jul 3, 2021 16:39:22 GMT -6
If her drake had any idea how often she mentally thought of him as a horse, he would lose his shit. "Okay," she breathed once Vidarr stilled, and looked back at her expectantly. "Okay. Lessgo, y' oaf." He was clearly none too thrilled with the squeezing of his ribs, but actually got going in fairly short order this time, now that he was catching onto what she wanted. At first the satyr pointed at the opposite corner of the paddock, sheepishly adjusting to send Vidarr a mental image of it instead when she realized he'd never see her pointing behind his head. |Let's go to the opposite corner.||Why?||Because you need practice.||Corner bad.||Consider it motivation to stop sooner.|Maybe from the 'tone' of voice she put on for his benefit, Vidarr could at least tell when he was being ribbed at a little, and fell quiet again. Likely to figure out what was being teased at his expense. stop|6 go|6
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Post by Lethalia on Jul 3, 2021 16:40:06 GMT -6
Without saying a word, Leth picked up his neck rein and squeezed him between her knees. Shockingly, he kicked into his lazy little walk, aimed more or less at the opposing fence corner. Her first instinct was to correct his angle with the neck rein, but tugging at him wouldn't accomplish much more than getting dirty looks at this point in time. Directions, they would get to in time - but she couldn't throw all that many new things at him all at once. After all, trying to simultaneously learn 'stop' and 'go' was probably taking most of his processing power. "Woah now," she called out clearly, pulling back on the neck rein as she spoke. This time, preceding the fence by several more yards than the first time. Reacting more slowly than her spoken command, but faster than careening into the fence, Vidarr's gait took on a more plodding rhythm as his mass slowed. Still, he found himself abreast the fence, the log creaking and flexing back against him lending the rest of the stopping power needed. Lethalia leaned forward to pat his neck, even if she was beginning to question if this was the very same drake she'd taken into the pit. No wonder she'd thought he'd get eaten alive in those sands when he was younger. stop|7 go|7
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Post by Lethalia on Jul 3, 2021 16:40:29 GMT -6
"Again. Lessgo," she repeated, pulling back on the neck rein as the drake more wisely backed up this time. "Pretty good back-up!" she commended, even if the trick was an unknown thus far. A squeeze to the sides and he took off in the direction he was already facing, with surprising speed. They still needed to get to steering and better brakes, but this was a decent start. If he was starting to pick up on the easier things, Lethalia thought Vidarr might be able to handle a little bit more. |Can't you go any faster?| she prompted, tapping Vidarr's ribs with her hooves - and having to repeat the motion with more force than she liked for him to even take notice. It was her own fault for raising the beast to be thick-skinned for battle, without regard for how it would effect this part of training. There was the hope that he would become less dead-sided to her cues, instead of getting even better at ignoring her. She'd end up feeling guilty over walloping him for attention every time, even if the drake didn't act highly affected by it. Not to mention merely going out for a ride would require quite a lot more effort than she'd like! faster/slower|1
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Post by Lethalia on Jul 3, 2021 16:40:46 GMT -6
The mass beneath her groaned theatrically. |You're the one who agreed to this!| Lethalia reminded him joyfully; she wasn't going to let him forget it! It was too good of leverage for something she was likely never going to get again. He reminded her a lot of other hard-headed males she'd met before, unwilling to back down from their stated opinion to their own detriment. It didn't seem that boys varied a whole lot between species barriers, and Leth was going to take advantage of that as long as she possibly could! |C'mon, big guy. Work with me and we'll be off on our adventure soon enough.|Vidarr began a sigh, but rumbled something of an agreement back to her that was less words and more acknowledgement. Curiously, Lethalia prompted again, |Okay, so... Faster? I know you're not so fast on the ground, but still. Faster.| Another tapping of his sides, and his ribs actually twitched and sucked in - so he could feel it! - and a mighty sigh saw his trotting pick up a little bit. Well, that was... something. "Good!" Vidarr lv|134 ly|90 faster/slower|2
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Post by Lethalia on Jul 3, 2021 16:41:38 GMT -6
Thanks to being infused with wind, he tended to the skies even more than the average drake, lorded over them for all his days. Vidarr seemed more at home flying than he ever did on the ground. At one point in time she'd thought that perhaps his injection hadn't changed him as innately as it had the two browns, but over the years she was able to see it in him. The slightly changed shape of his scales and wings, to something reminiscent of birds who spent days in the air. Sure enough it'd absolutely changed him, one just had to look closely enough. It made him all the less thrilled with this ground work, understandably. No drake she knew liked being grounded, but she'd also never met any black drakes - they were theoretically the only ones to seek out the dark of the caves rather than the skies. With all of their extensive work on the gym, she had confidence he was a little more nimble on his feet than most creatures his size. faster/slower|3
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Post by Lethalia on Jul 3, 2021 16:41:55 GMT -6
When his gait began to slow, Lethalia reminded him with another sharp tap to the sides, still having to translate |Faster, again.| He'd catch on eventually; he always had. When that eventuality would become reality had a little more guesswork involved. At least with her additional cues for now, he seemed to understand - his pace kicking up just a little more. Less of a 'casual ambling' and more of a 'lazy trotting' but at least it was a response. Well, he might have the idea. |Now, when you're already going... fast,| she started, loathe to call this pace anything speedy, |You're gonna go a little faster when I ask again. Ready?| No response, and she would have considered herself lucky had she gotten one. More gently nudge-kicking to his ribs while she crowed, |Okay, more faster!| |More??| He sounded as though she were asking the world of him. At this point she could understand what his meaning was, even if he didn't possess all of the words to say it; isn't this fast enough?! faster/slower|4
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Post by Lethalia on Jul 3, 2021 16:42:07 GMT -6
|Yes, more,| she repeated, hesitating to tap his sides just for the command to be ignored again. "C'mon Vidarr, dash!" Lethalia commanded after the idea clicked, grinning at her own idea. Though he was a pretty huge arse, Vidarr did mind her, and picked up the pace into a halfhearted speed boost. Tapping his sides once he got going again, Lethalia encouraged "Perfect! Y'might prove y'can actually move someday yet!"Lethalia allowed Vidarr to lope round the paddock for a while, reminding to keep up the pace she'd set with a tap until he didn't need to be brought back in line nearly as often. "Okay - woah!" she directed, leaning back in the saddle as she did in hopes of tying it to the 'trick'. Instead of just... stopping, she ended up getting a strange crow-hopping in response. Lethalia held onto what she could for what just became a bumpy ride, looking over her shoulder to see the furrows his dragging claws left in the dirt. He hadn't been going that fast at all really, but the way he could scarcely bring himself to a stop made it seem like he'd been running full tilt. |Really, Vidarr?| Not that it needed questioning - she'd admitted to herself a long time ago that her big dumb brute was... also pretty much a dork. Made him markedly less intimidating, best that nobody else found out. Likely he had a hard time keeping up with the trajectory of their training going too dramatically from 'moving' to 'stopping'. faster/slower|5
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Post by Lethalia on Jul 3, 2021 16:42:23 GMT -6
|Why woah?!| he snapped, confirming her suspicions. |Was go!||I need you to be able to do both,| she reminded him gingerly, trying her best to hide her entertainment from him as he coasted to a stop. |Sometimes when you don't want to stop, I might have a reason to. We'll get it!| At his drawn-out sigh, she added |It's just like the gym. Work on this with me, and we'll never have to do it again.| Though that may only be a half-truth, since he still needed to finish up his gym training... which didn't need to be common knowledge right now. That would remove any hint of cooperation she was already fighting to maintain. Vidarr still wavered while unconvinced; she knew nothing would get done while he was in this sort of mood. Being that it was a little difficult to move - or halt - a giant that didn't want to, Leth reached out to him again. |I hope you trust that I wouldn't ask you to do something that I didn't have to,| she tried, to a flickering tiny ear, as if she were speaking aloud to him. |This won't change anything. I'll still trust you with where we're going, love.| stop|8 go|8
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Post by Lethalia on Jul 3, 2021 16:46:07 GMT -6
That 'trust' thing felt a lot like how protecting his own territory felt; not like actively guarding it. But a whole lot like the confidence he had in the capability of his claws to protect it, something in boundless supply for a dominant drake. It was the faith that it would be protected. The way he would defend his owner and daughters with those same claws, knowing they would be safe under his guard - that kind of feeling. She'd said the words before, but never had he attached those feelings to it when she said it like that, with the passion behind it. So far and away form what a drake would normally consider, those things she said never.. clicked until now. Even if he didn't entirely comprehend what it meant, he was pretty sure he had trust in her, too. It was a lot for him to put together right now, the first time she'd said as much to realize how those words and her saccharine-sweet fondness for him were connected. Oh. |Okay.|As far as Lethalia was concerned, it was fairly unsettling that his usual favorite word 'why' had been replaced with 'okay'. She did have the right drake, didn't she? "Lessgo, then," she commanded nonetheless, nudging Vidarr into motion. Something changed and clicked within him; he was responsive to her tugging on the neck rein, even if it still took yanking at times. He was normally quiet, and certainly seemed to be concentrating hard on what they'd been working on. Which was definitely not characteristic of him. "Y'doin aight, love?| Leth finally asked, leaning over to pat his neck. |Thinking,| he told her, coasting to the stop she tugged to ask for. |How unusual,| she ribbed, to a large snort. Vidarr lv|135 ly|91
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