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Post by Noa on Oct 18, 2020 16:44:59 GMT -6
In fact, knowing the creature and his personality, he may well have been taking some amusement in watching her jump and wade slowly through the field of tires. But there was no pride on her part to be hurt, and this way he would understand more quickly just what was required to perform well when attempting this exercise, so she did not protest having to do this.
“The aim,” she said, once she was on the other side, “is to move while paying attention to where one places one’s feet. If you are not able to do it quickly, this is not an issue. Your efforts should be concentrated first and foremost on placing your steps accurately.”
What the creature made of her advice, he did not indicate. Rabbit took this as a cue that he was ready to begin. She flew over the tires on her way back to him.
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Post by Noa on Oct 18, 2020 16:45:16 GMT -6
Her demonstration thus being over, it was neither efficient nor useful for her to make her way back through them on foot, and flying over them would be faster than going around them.
“When you are ready,” she said, preparing the stopwatch.
The creature considered the tires for another moment, then took a deep breath and stepped in.
Watching him attempt the tires, Rabbit thought that if she were capable of amusement, perhaps on this occasion the sight would have prompted just that emotion. It was an exercise that seemed impossible to perform with any measure of grace. She was sure that she looked no better when it had been her turn, and in fact must have looked worse, as she was shorter and her legs less spaced apart than his. Even so, to see the creature ambling through the tires in such a graceless way was a sharp departure from his usual bearing.
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Post by Noa on Oct 18, 2020 16:45:26 GMT -6
If she had been capable of it, she was sure the sight would have prompted some emotional response, and most likely one that the creature in question would have found insulting.
He was not good at it, at least not on this initial attempt. He was not fast, though he had at least the good sense to heed what she had said, and focused on placing his feet carefully rather than trying to rush. There was good reason for her advice, and perhaps he realized it himself without her needing to spell it out explicitly for him: if he was not careful, and wished only to go quickly, there was the very real possibility that he would trip and fall. And as much as there was no way to look graceful picking his way through the tires right now, there was even less potential to appear at one’s best when taking such a fall.
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Post by Noa on Oct 18, 2020 16:45:37 GMT -6
Not to mention the impediment to one’s completion time, and the inevitable minor pain involved in falling in the first place.
By the time that he reached the end of the course, the creature seemed well on his way to being frustrated by it. But Rabbit saw him take a deep breath, calming and focusing himself, before turning back to the tire obstacle course and attempting it once more. In accordance with his wishes, Rabbit restarted the stopwatch count. This time, the creature proceeded even more slowly than he had the last time, but with more careful attention to where he was placing his feet.
This was, after all, an exercise. And the aim was to learn and improve, not to excel at it. With time and practice, some measure of excellence could be achieved, but if the creature experienced any improvement, then it would be time and effort well spent.
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Post by Noa on Oct 18, 2020 16:45:51 GMT -6
The fact that the creature was doing what he could to overcome his own unhappy feelings and take care with this exercise was proof that he understood this much.
And it wasn’t as though tricky footing was a rarity in practice, even if it didn’t come up often in the Pit, according to Aster. If one had to fight on uneven terrain or anywhere else with uncertain footing, then this sort of practice would make itself useful.
But so long as the creature was applying himself, there was no need for Rabbit to lecture him on the importance of what he was doing either. For prideful creatures such as this one, too much pressure from external sources could very well turn them contrary. He was intelligent, but not necessarily without the same foibles that were applicable to humans.
Rabbit kept her silence, and watched as the creature completed a second round with the tires, then went back for a third.
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Post by Noa on Oct 18, 2020 16:46:03 GMT -6
This time, he went at a pace that was more comparable to his original attempt, though with somewhat more efficiency than before. He was picking his feet up more readily, growing a little more used to the gait that was required to make his way more quickly through the tires.
And sure enough, his time improved - and improved again when he made a fourth attempt. It still wasn’t easy for him, and she could still see that he had to put some effort into keeping track of where he was placing his feet, but he could do it more quickly now, and with somewhat less thought than he had been putting into it previously.
After six or so attempts, however, Rabbit called him away once again. “I feel that we should stop here for today,” she said. “There are other skills to work on, and sleep will help reinforce any new things you have learned here.”
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Post by Noa on Oct 18, 2020 16:46:21 GMT -6
The creature did not exactly offer her any sign of agreement, but went at once to the track to begin his cooldown laps, while Rabbit prepared more water for him to drink. Once he was done with his cooldown, he came to drink his fill of the water, and Rabbit cleaned up anything that needed to be cleaned up from their session.
They would be back some other time. Just because the creature was back to a fit state didn’t mean he would be satisfied with where he was at, and inevitably she imagined they would find something new for him to work on. For now, they had done enough for the day, and a change of pace would keep the creature from getting stuck on any one thing for long enough to make him irate about it.
Once everything was cleaned and done with, the two of them took their leave.
20 (Ending loyalty: 94)
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Post by Noa on Oct 29, 2020 23:23:24 GMT -6
The gym. It had honestly been a while since Aster last had occasion to come back to this place personally. In the meantime, Rabbit had been making good use of his membership for that half breed that she was taking care of. It made Aster sigh a little to think of it - the amount of good care that beast was getting, and all by throwing a tantrum to boot… … Well, that wasn’t here and now, he supposed. And maybe the creature was a little clever for having made a calculated choice like that, knowing that he would be one of many if he worked with Aster, but that Rabbit had no one else to dedicate her time to. It was that particular factor, more than anything, that had kept him away from the gym for so long. There were other things too, but being busy and spread thin was the main issue. The one accompanying him today was Avander. 1 (I stopped tracking Avander's loyalty after it hit 100, so I'll just assume it's 100 right now and count from there)
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Post by Noa on Oct 29, 2020 23:23:51 GMT -6
The Wiurn was pretty much the pinnacle of all of Aster’s training efforts, but even he hadn’t reached his full physical potential at the gym yet, which honestly made Aster feel a bit rueful. Avander was strong, and despite what he might say himself on the topic, the Wiurn had learned to carry pride in that strength, but Aster knew he could be stronger still.
For his part, Avander wasn’t happy at all to be back at the gym.
{This place,} Avander said, the distaste in his voice readily evident even without their emotional link. With it, Aster felt it as a barb in his mind. Avander was giving him a pointed look.
Honestly, Aster didn’t blame him. Even Aster himself thought the work could be pretty boring, and he wasn’t the one who was doing it, just giving out directions and offering what moral support he could. Not enough, by Avander’s reckoning. But still.
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Post by Noa on Oct 29, 2020 23:24:02 GMT -6
“It’s good for you,” Aster said, as he began to check and set up the equipment they would be using today. He started by taking out a set of poles, while Avander groaned at the sight of them. “Come on. You know I’m right. Besides, it wouldn’t kill you to shift that bulk once in a while.”
{I’m fast already,} Avander said defensively.
“Faster than Azalea?” Aster said with a raised brow.
At that, Avander blinked, then made a low rumble that was half snarl, half grumble. {It’s not fair, you know. She gets big and fast? What is that?}
“Natural talent… and a little bit of work. She’s been here too, you know, and I’ll bring her again when the time comes.” Maybe soon, though Aster wanted to finish some more work with Avander first before tackling the issue of Azalea’s physique.
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Post by Noa on Oct 29, 2020 23:24:19 GMT -6
And if Avander thought that shifting the topic of conversation would get him out of having to do this, especially when they were already here, then he was dead wrong.
Of course, maybe it was just a matter of ‘misery loves company’. Maybe Avander was comforted by the idea that someone else was going to have to suffer too, even if he wasn’t around to see it.
“You could start with some warmups,” Aster said.
{You aren’t done setting up yet,} Avander pointed out.
“Right, which means if you start now, you’ll be done when I’m finished. Won’t that save time?” Avander probably knew that was where this was going, but it was like him to go through the motions anyway. The Wiurn gave another grumble, but walked towards the track.
“No, not there,” Aster said. “Just do circles in the space inside the track for now.”
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Post by Noa on Oct 29, 2020 23:24:34 GMT -6
There was less space, but it was still possible - just odd. As Avander processed this, Aster felt the edges of a question brushing his mind. He had begun setting up the poles, though it wasn’t an arrangement that Avander was familiar with. Aster had only done agility training with Avander before, which had involved weaving through the poles, but this time Aster set them up as hurdles on the track instead.
In theory, this could have been used for agility training too, but Aster hadn’t gotten around to it and they had gotten by just fine on the exercises that they did. And now it was time for them to work on something else, but the poles still served their purpose, just in a new way that Avander hadn’t experienced before.
Honestly, it was for the best, though Aster knew Avander probably wouldn’t like it much.
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Post by Noa on Oct 29, 2020 23:24:45 GMT -6
“We’re working on your stamina today. You’ll be running around the track and jumping over these.”
{What am I, a Galabex? Drakes - Wiurns fly,} Avander said, catching himself. It seemed that after a lifetime of being a drake, even after he had mostly adjusted to a new body, some habits died hard. But then, Aster wondered how long it would take him to stop thinking of himself as a humanism if he woke up in, say, an Uthax body one day.
He was about to make a smart remark, but then he thought about it. “You know what, if you want to make little flight jumps for these, be my guest. But you still have to run the rest of the track.”
He wondered if Avander would take the bait, but the Wiurn thought about it and said, {I’ll jump, I’ll jump. Takeoff every time would be too tiring.}
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Post by Noa on Oct 29, 2020 23:24:59 GMT -6
“The point is to get tired,” Aster pointed out, but he was a little pleased that Avander had realized it too. Avander wasn’t a deeply intelligent species the way that Summer was, for example, but he still had some wits about him. Better than Grunty, who was supposed to be on the same level, but was rather simplistic within the limitations of his own species.
Besides, Aster had been in his head a long time.
As they chatted, they did their work, of course - Aster with the setup, and Avander, despite all his protests, doing the warm-up laps per Aster’s instructions. He complained, but he still did it in the end. That was about how it went, training with Avander. Aster wished, of course, that the Wiurn would simply get on with it without the griping first, but it was better than having to resort to bribes and sometimes threats, the way he had to with Grunty.
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Post by Noa on Oct 29, 2020 23:25:32 GMT -6
After a few minutes, both of them were ready. It was just as Aster said. Avander, who was in decent shape despite Aster’s jibes on the topic, was breathing evenly, looking more lively and limber than he had been when he had first come in. Aster led him to a starting line, then said, “I’ll be timing you. On my signal.”
{Yeah, yeah,} Avander said.
Aster gave the signal, and Avander began running. He didn’t run fast, but Aster wasn’t looking for him to run quickly. Aster was going to have to push him eventually, since they had already done some endurance training before, and he knew it wouldn’t be easy to tire out the Wiurn, but for now he could get acclimated slowly.
It was about dragging things out, not a race to the finish line. Stamina training was different from what they had done before.
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