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Post by Lethalia on Jul 10, 2021 13:28:12 GMT -6
"Still alive, ain't'cha?" Lethalia asked while sliding down the short hill. Juniper still didn't want to meet her eye, but her ear flicked to acknowledge the voice. "Lookin' a little alive, there, June-bug." Not much response to her observation, but the hen did shift to rest on her other side to avoid the satyr's fussing hands when she reached out to start checking for injuries. "Okay. Y'can be sassy, y'prolly fine. C'mon, 'm sure ya'tired, we'not done yet girlie." Dropping the fuss, she patted June's rear, summoning up an annoyed look. Good sign if the white would meet her eyes again. Until the next spill, anyway. Juniper wasn't about to tolerate more concern, rising to her feet to avoid further prompting by the satyr when the hen could just feel Leth's eyes on her. If the hen was well enough to be crabby and get up without limping, likely she was just fine. The lizards were tougher than she gave them credit for, she coddled hers so much. They worked well with the wear and tear. stamina|11
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Post by Lethalia on Jul 10, 2021 13:29:13 GMT -6
It was a little more of a struggle to talk the white into running more. A little water, rest, and baby talk, nothing really convinced the hen to run again when it was all sweet words. The white had laid down almost like a declaration. No more. Leth could fix that. All it would take was being a pest. By now the hen had rested long enough that Leth couldn't feel too bad about pressing her further. Like most sarane, she was short-tempered when it came to being bothered. A little bit of tugging gently at a wingbone here, flipping her ear inside-out, and then the other one - The moment she reached for Juniper's back to tickle the sensitive skin there, Leth almost couldn't dodge away fast enough from the resultant full-body lunge. She didn't think June would hurt her intentionally, but she still had no idea of her own size. Accidents happened. Well - it got her heart pumping properly to take off at a sprint. June snorted somewhere behind her, easily goaded into another game of chase when she was too immature to not respond to being teased! After part of the day spent running, Leth was beginning to struggle to pose the youngling and her boundless energy a challenge. Maybe she was the one who needed to visit more. Juniper lv|16.2 ly|16.2 stamina|12 stam+1 end
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Post by Lethalia on Jul 14, 2021 0:13:00 GMT -6
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Post by Lethalia on Jul 14, 2021 0:15:16 GMT -6
Though Lethalia wasn't sure if June was significantly more mature than last time they were at the gym, there was certainly progress being made. While she wasn't quite acting like a full-grown hen, she was becoming more capable in her own way. Standing up to the other hens on the property had been a big part of that. It would've been vastly preferred the hen had figured out how to get along with them instead, but it wasn't meant to be. What was one more loner hen? Store one loner in the house, one in the lake... things would work themselves out. With a smidge of experience training under her belt, Juniper seemed to better understand what was happening when they rounded on the gym building this time around. The first time had just disguised as fun and games, but now that June had learned there was 'work' she would be asked to do she looked on the gym with a more purposeful curiosity. Lethalia appreciated seeing it - meant she was smart enough to figure some things out for herself, and that she wasn't so adverse to work that she would try and avoid the gym all together. It was nice being here with a creature that couldn't talk back to her. Juniper lv|26.1 ly|26.1 dexterity|1
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Post by Lethalia on Jul 14, 2021 0:16:30 GMT -6
So many folks loved those ribbons, but were they really worth sacrificing this silence for? Leth smirked to herself, knowing full well she wouldn't give up 'speaking' with the two ribbons she had, but she wasn't keen to seek out more of such intimate connections. Looking at Juniper and how she may well grow into the same opinionated terror her dam did, Leth was happy to remain without a direct link to that. Juniper might not be able to directly talk to her, but her tail curled in it's tell tale spiral that she did when she was especially curious or on edge. Seemed related to her instinct to have those wicked thorns at the ready when ever any amount of cortisol hit them, and as a result she saw that adorable twisted tail all the time. Especially now as she was inspecting this new territory with an intensity only a young thing could summon. (A bit at odds with their true use to find the thorns cute, but Leth came to realize her definitions of such might have been altered over the years of raising scaled toothy things.) Juniper perked up at the scent of water even indoors, carefully picking her way over the slick wooden floors to check it out. dexterity|2
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Post by Lethalia on Jul 14, 2021 0:16:52 GMT -6
Lethalia trailed after the hen, already seeing where the coarse of the day was going to bring them. Water it was. Supposedly any improvements seen in Juniper's agility under water would have some benefit still on land, wouldn't it? Either way she was teeming with energy that needed burnt off, swimming would still do that handily. Juniper stared eagerly into the pool, turning her wanting blue eyes on her owner the moment her hoofbeats rang out beside her. "Okay, yeah, g'on," Lethalia chortled. June wasn't taught much, but her owner's positive tone saw the hen slithering into the water without further prompting. This pool was a nice one, a narrow oval 'track' shaped, so there was more dry land in the center of it. Juniper was a good size for the oval indoor pool, likely not meat for anything much larger than an adult drake. Go figure she gave herself a water based creature when it wasn't really her favorite thing, but it was tolerable for both summer and the hen's wellbeing. The satyr walked along the edge of the pool as she observed Juniper's winding form just beneath the surface. Swimming the loop took the hen no time at all, unimpeded as she was. This was going to take a long time, if that's all she was doing. dexterity|3
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Post by Lethalia on Jul 14, 2021 0:17:07 GMT -6
Lethalia started poking around above ground; she had plenty of time for how long a mere body of water could occupy Juniper without intervention. A lot of the equipment was rendered useless or dangerous in the water, but... some of the obstacles stored in the center of the pool ribbon looked interesting. Picking her way over the bridge got Juniper's attention, poking her head out to watch her owner check out strange people-things up above. Boring, then! Along regular intervals up against the water's edge were sets of levers, all with indicator lights to show where... something was. Making sure Juniper was well on the other side of the track, Lethalia nudged one such lever until the first of three lights lit green. Something mechanical whirred under her feet, and a foam-padded barrier retracted from the underwater wall, just a protrusion that cut off about a third of the waterway. Another click forward, and the barrier slid to choke off a little further of the waterway. Going the opposite way - brought the wall from the other side. Oh. This was perfect! Checking again to see where Juniper was, Leth dashed to the next several levers to click them back and fourth in a random pattern that pleased her. dexterity|4
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Post by Lethalia on Jul 14, 2021 0:18:31 GMT -6
A little splash appeared in the water where Juniper encountered the first wall, and Leth dashed back over to go see what the hen thought about it. June had popped up above the water, ears flat and eyes intense as she looked like she was contemplating latching onto the foam with her claws instead of just swimming around it. "June," Lethalia chimed with a short laugh, jarring the hen out of that consideration. "G'round, weirdo." June looked at her flatly, and the woman ineffectually gestured a little more. b]"'round. Go tha'way."[/b] Juniper dipped back beneath the surface - probably because she didn't have to listen to her owner down there - and twisted against the barrier again, claw-walking her way along it until she slithered around the exposed panel. Leth hadn't expected it to be that much of a challenge, but apparently she hadn't had enough experience with obstacle while swimming in their lake. Well, today was the one to learn! Juniper sprung off the wall, hasty in her appreciation to be into the open water again. She wasn't quick enough to dodge around the next wall, looping down in a flip that would have looked intentional if the satyr didn't know any better. Juniper lv|27 ly|27 dexterity|5
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Post by Lethalia on Jul 14, 2021 0:18:56 GMT -6
Too bad for Juniper, Lethalia knew that nearly intentional looking flip was nothing of the sort. June was getting spry enough she could bounce back well, and perhaps she was even getting to know her size well enough that her avoidant moves had some grace to them. And yet, she still had to pull it in order to not run straight into the wall, as opposed to being capable of maneuvering inches to the right where she could have passed unimpeded. It even gave her the opportunity to stick her nose above the water at the crest of her loop, filling her lungs before rounding to the barrier again. Though this wall was on the opposite side of the other one, Juni got extra points for finding the edge of this barrier leagues faster than she did the first. Gods. Lethalia could try to find an upside - if Juniper had even further to go than most, her improvements should come quickly and visibly, right? This starting out part was going to be a hurtle to get over, especially considering Juniper launched herself at the next panel with exactly the same result... dexterity|6
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Post by Lethalia on Jul 14, 2021 0:19:12 GMT -6
Lethalia kept a keen eye on Juniper, of course. Somebody had to make sure she wasn't stupid enough to accidentally off herself, and as of this moment, the satyr was the more likely one to be capable of the feat. The goal was June being able to keep herself out of trouble in the future, if that was even possible for her. But in this setting, with padded walls and a slick smooth pool, the satyr couldn't imagine there being much trouble to find. Just as the woman turned away there was a slight 'thump' against another soft foam barrier and Leth heaved a bit of a sigh. The padded walls were even a different color, kid! Moments later a splash and angered breath of air let all know that the hen was alive and well. And there was some of her da's rage, too! It would take the hen long enough to navigate that side of the track, Leth quietly set to seeing what fun obstacles the other side might offer. The same controls were available, but when she touched one, the dark wall that sprung out on this side looked a little different. dexterity|7
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Post by Lethalia on Jul 14, 2021 0:20:06 GMT -6
Instead of giving several feet of space to pass through, these panels had a circular cut-out, creating underwater 'hoops' to jump through that didn't have much of an alternative. It looked like you could even ask the staff for different sized ones, but the satyr had to admit she liked the size of the ones installed right now. They were technically a little too big for June right now, but she was already having difficult enough time with the finer motor skills and control. Getting better every day, but she didn't need more challenge in that department right now. If the point was to be going through the track at speed, they would need the extra space! Another torrent of water from the other side and Lethalia looked over to see Juniper's spiked tail flailing in another unnesicary maneuver around the last barrier wall. Though the stretch had been littered with obstacles, the turn was graciously clear of the extra workout, and she took care of the breezy channel at a pretty quick clip; Lethalia finally got the idea that she ought to start timing the hen as she rounded the bend with more grace than expected. dexterity|8
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Post by Lethalia on Jul 14, 2021 0:20:23 GMT -6
Juniper almost stopped dead at the sight of more barriers; she stopped paddling and her momentum carried her forward. She stared at the first wall and it's gap for some time, seeming to calculate where she needed to go before putting on the speed again. Instead of going through the generous underwater hoop, Juniper tried to spring out of the water and over the wall. Really, it would've been impressive had she actually... made it all the way over. Instead, the foam wall squished under the weight of her midsection, leaving the hen flapping and struggling over the barrier. Just before her ower could intervene, she managed to claw her way over the barrier and splash onto the other side of it. Almost sheepishly she crawled through the next underwater opening, marveling how much easier that was. Stubborn was a painfully common sarane personality trait. The presence of it in Juni wasn't something Lethalia was looking forward to dealing with, but it was a good sign that the hen was well on her way to realizing she was grown. Secure adults did stupid things like try and clamor over a barrier instead of going through the intended path, only to more personal struggle. Hatchlings did other stupid things and cried for help when they got stuck. dexterity|9
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Post by Lethalia on Jul 14, 2021 0:20:59 GMT -6
Juniper took her first several laps at a snail's pace, picking her way through the not-so difficult obstacles set up for her as if it took every fibre of her being to focus on not bumping into a barrier on her way around them. Spatial awareness was still in development. Leth cheered on every victory whenever she came up for breath nonetheless. She was so intensely focused on swimming, Leth didn't even have to encourage this one to work out. It was wonderful! By a handful of laps in, June gained in confidence in the course and remembering where the barriers would be. She rounded a curve and Leth whooped as she took the first underwater hoop by tucking her front legs and sailing through it, veering to make the next. She had to grapple it with her hind claws to make it through, but that was still a marked improvement upon crawling through it. Every lap only saw more progress as she learned to tuck her limbs and make more use of her form to sail through the barriers when they got slim. Lethalia fiddled with the stopwatch with a little bit of disbelief at the end of the day, blown away on her improvement. There was hope for this hen yet! Juniper lv|28 ly|28 dexterity|10 dex+1 end
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Post by Lethalia on Aug 11, 2021 21:16:05 GMT -6
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Post by Lethalia on Aug 11, 2021 21:23:41 GMT -6
Lethalia never imagined she'd be pouring all of this work into a hen. Not because she was the sort that thought them any lesser creatures - on the contrary, she thought they were so lovely they made up a huge majority of her personal collection. As much as she adored them, even she knew the egg bearers weren't nearly as meant for the blood and war that the drakes constantly sought. It took effort or special tricks for a hen to even posess the strength to knock a drake down quickly, where the boys were boxing one another around out of the gate. Hens weren't the paramount battle creature, so why did Leth decide this hen was going to be a fighter? Partially, like with Ivaylo, it felt as though there was no other choice to be had. Juniper was getting so sour and aggresive to the other hens on the property she could be mistaken for bloodied already. Luckily she had a brain enough on her to prevent it from being knocked straight out, and remained away from the two dominant drakes. She definitely caught June hassling her father when he was out alone, but it was perhaps one of the few times Rime didn't instantly lash out. Juniper lv|38.1 ly|38.1 stamina|1
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