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Post by Morgan on Jun 23, 2019 14:03:58 GMT -6
Today was not a day for training, Morgan wanted Nico to understand that they wouldn't be training all the time. That was important, since Morgan wanted the creature to know that some times were going to be more serious, and others were going to be more relaxed days. The only way to really teach that was to show the young pup. Morgan was already coming up with new things that would need to be trained thoroughly to the creature; eventually it would be wearing a harness and all, perhaps even those creature pockets that most people used? Perhaps Morgan would get a hold of the Jackalope and have him make the houluh something nice looking and special. He was, after all, one of the best artificers in the labs. Morgan could certainly afford it, even though most people were charity cases when it came to the Jackalope, according to his sheepish admittance. Morgan smiled down at the puppy as they thought, and the creature beamed back up at them.
[5]
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Post by Morgan on Jun 23, 2019 14:09:06 GMT -6
Morgan was not going to feed the creature this sort of thing every day, it just wouldn't be healthy for them. They were going to have to develop a food specifically for him, it would seem. Houluh were in no way wild-like animals. Where feeding the other creatures was easy (fresh uncooked meat was the best diet for most of them, and the tat-lung easily ate mostly gemstones and small fishes themselves), it would be relatively difficult in the long run for Nico. He was domesticated, as houluh tended to be, and a diet of kibbles would probably be best if supplemented with wet foods. The issue was that Morgan did not, in any way, trust the food given out by the Labs that was industrialized, nor did they trust the local general store's 'no hamster poo I promise' brand. What kind of a company even... SAYS that? It was horrible and completely unappetizing, in no way good enough for Nico!
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Post by Morgan on Jun 23, 2019 14:12:03 GMT -6
Morgan always outsourced the food they fed their creatures to local farmers; the best produce, the best carcasses, taken to trusted butchers. Morgan would have no less for their creatures, and would not tolerate the animals being sickened by their food. Why would they suddenly trust some unknown blue and brown bag that specifically promised not to have solid waste in it? That was horrible marketing, at the very least. Morgan could afford to have a food developed specifically for houluh (probably multiple of them, if they wanted) and would at least do it for Nico. It shouldn't take too long, and in the present, they could simply freeze dry their own meats for the puppy. That would probably be best, until they could develop a truly trust-able food source for their houluh. Morgan eventually made it to the flat spot in the grounds, and looked around to make sure that it was absolutely perfect.
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Post by Morgan on Jun 23, 2019 14:19:31 GMT -6
There wasn't any uneveness in the grounds, the grass was soft (if not a little... greenish blue and dark?) here, and it was atop a small hill, perfect for looking down over the ruby grass below that usually casted off all of the fireworks. The mansion was not too far away, just across the field of ruby grain, it was standing resolute; this time it almost looked to be made of crimson bricks, with pale white mortar between them. Perhaps someday Morgan would go inside; but for now, it was grilling time! Morgan made sure that the grill was in a good position, and opened the pristine round top to look inside. They grabbed the metal grate out carefully, and then looked down at the houluh. "Well, looks like a good spot, right Nico?" Their jovial tone certainly made it to the houluh, who was sitting down regally, wagging his tail against the grass.
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Post by Morgan on Jun 23, 2019 14:22:21 GMT -6
"It is so pretty out here, isn't it boyo?" Morgan said, bending down and putting their hands on their knees to look down at the houluh. The creature thumped his tail a few more times against the grass, and then Morgan got back to work, gently taking their backpack off. It had a small pouch of charcoal in the outer pocket, and Morgan removed that, pouring the entire small packet into the small grill. "We've got to get the grill running if we want any breakfast." Morgan said, so that the houluh felt like Morgan was paying attention to him. After this, they closed the pouch and put it back in the outside pocket, and then took a match out, before quickly striking it and lighting the charcoal carefully. It had to burn down to get the grill hot enough, after all. Morgan smiled down at the puppy for a moment. "Want to play with your ball?"
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Post by Morgan on Jun 23, 2019 14:25:06 GMT -6
Of course Nico did not know the word for ball at the moment, but as soon as Morgan pulled it out of the side pocket, the creature's tail was thoroughly wagging, his entire hind end moving along with it. "There you go, Nico." Morgan said, and then tossed the ball to the creature. Luckily for Morgan, the creature took the ball and then began running around with it excitedly, tail wagging all over the place... It was kinda nice to just have a dog, like a regular dog. Morgan let the charcoal burn, and then got the rest of everything ready. The meat packages were sitting on the side rack, not opened yet of course. There was certainly enough there for Morgan and the pup to eat a decent meal this morning, at least. Morgan knew that the pup would have to eat the least greasy, unseasoned things so that he wouldn't get sick.
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Post by Morgan on Jun 23, 2019 14:53:01 GMT -6
Pups were not hard to take care of, and Morgan was enjoying that fact. Whenever it was time to bring out the wiurn, it had to be almost completely tied up for the most part, even though it was generally restrained as lightly as possible. However, the pup just had to be on a leash (he was still learning the proper decorum when being on a leash, but Morgan was fair with that) and maybe in the future a muzzle? He didn't seem to be big enough to really hurt anyone right now, and had been stopped multiple times to be petted without trying to bite anyone, but Morgan would rather be completely safe than sorry in the long run. Morgan just needed to wait for the charcoal to burn down, now. "Welp boyo, do you want to play or something in the meantime?" Morgan was grinning, looking down at the creature, not having to worry about anyone seeing them.
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Post by Morgan on Jun 23, 2019 15:03:24 GMT -6
Morgan made sure to sit the backpack down gingerly after removing all of the things, and they placed it on the ground nearby. Morgan gently petted the strange red egg or stone, Morgan still wasn't entirely sure of which it was yet. Something smelled kinda... Sharp about it. Like a sharp flame, or an explosion. Morgan couldn't quite place the scent, but it was somehow calming, like Morgan had smelled it before. Morgan was a bit weirded out by the entire situation. They remembered having a dream, but not what the dream was about. They had woken up sweaty and heart racing, maybe they had been running from something, or something? Huh, that couldn't be it... And then they had woken up with this weird rock. Huh. Morgan turns around, and then gently reaches down to pet the houluh. "Well boyo, looks like we've got a pet rock now, huh?" Morgan said jokingly. They'd have to use an incubator for it, and see if it hatched.
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Post by Morgan on Jun 23, 2019 15:30:51 GMT -6
Had Morgan truly remembered, and really known what this egg was holding within it, they probably would not have called it a rock in a jest, but Morgan did not understand, or remember. Morgan hated not knowing things though, and typically cracked jokes to try to cool off a bit. There wasn't much else that Morgan could do, because it was something that felt so intrinsic and trusted within theirself, that they needed to take care of whatever it was. Morgan left it in the backpack, swaddled gently with a thick starry-covered coverlet that they had brought in the backpack; a cashmere throw that usually was on their bed. Something about the strange red 'stone' made Morgan want to protect it. Morgan, however, needed to watch the grill; and of course play with the houluh. That was, after all, why they had come today, after all. Morgan tossed the ball, and the houluh ran half-tumbling down the hillock to get it.
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Post by Morgan on Jun 23, 2019 15:39:38 GMT -6
Morgan was a little concerned that the (not usually- but currently) clumsy pup would hurt itself on the trip down the little hillock, but he was a bit less clumsy than the other pups that Morgan had seen playing with their owners, and he managed to acclimate to running down the hill surprisingly well. At the bottom, he dashed into the ruby red grains to retrieve the holey ball, and then had rushed up the hillock again, doing quite a bit better on the way up than he had on the way down. "Good job, Nico." Morgan said, as the fluffy creature rushed up and rubbed into Morgan's legs, nearly jumping up. "No jumping, boyo." Then Morgan took the ball from him, and tossed it back down the hillock. The pup would learn; and Morgan couldn't have the pup leaping up on them as an adult; that would be a big mess.
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Post by Morgan on Jun 23, 2019 15:43:51 GMT -6
Morgan figured that the Houluh needed to learn to carry his body decently enough, so at some point Morgan would teach him how to walk the way that would be expected of such a dignified creature. He was already incredibly graceful for what he was; far more graceful and tender-footed than any dog that the bespectacled human had ever seen. Morgan figured that it should be fine to let him run down the hill a few times, it couldn't hurt anything. After a few moments, Morgan noticed him down at the bottom of the hillock, rooting around in the ruby grass. Had he lost his ball? A moment later the pup popped out, running the ball up the hillock in his jaws, wagging his tail around at a high rate of speed. Morgan shook their head, and kept their eyes on the grill. At some point, there would be food. For now, the coals had to burn down.
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Post by Jack on Jun 23, 2019 16:11:52 GMT -6
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Post by Morgan on Jun 23, 2019 18:05:33 GMT -6
The bespectacled human felt like they heard a noise, so they glanced up from the grill to see where Nico was. Morgan immediately saw him, and it wasn't him, he was scrambling back up the hillock. Morgan squinted their eyes, and waited until the houluh was next to them before they glanced around the rest of the way. From the hillock, they felt like they could see everything, but they still couldn't find anything out of the ordinary. Not long later, Morgan could see something in the distance, and they honed in on it, squinting at it since it was so far away. There was some kind of... Mass of multicolored flames across the way. Morgan had no idea what these things were; were they kind of like the flames that had been in the bush the other day? Morgan had no idea what to think about them, since they didn't seem organic.
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Post by Morgan on Jun 23, 2019 18:17:25 GMT -6
Morgan blinked, and wondered vaguely if they weren't coming closer. It sure did seem like they were? Morgan protectively stood in front of Nico, which was beginning to realize that something indeed might be wrong. Morgan gave the hand sign for Nico to stay, and then glared out over the grassy hillocks, even in the late evening shade that always seemed to be going on in this area during this month. It was good grilling weather, but Morgan was on edge when it came to things that they couldn't explain or deal with. Morgan's own chaotic green eyes buzzed beneath the irises, Morgan had no idea what to think about the entire thing, since they wanted to have a good day with the grill, and they didn't want to deal with anything too dangerous today. The houluh, on the other hand, was looking around, just trying to figure out what was happening.
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Post by Morgan on Jun 23, 2019 18:22:48 GMT -6
Morgan finally was quite sure that yet, the strange fires were coming this way, and there wasn't just one; there were three. There was a blue one, a pink one, and one that looked red; none of them like normal fires. They were also not ball lightning; Morgan had gotten to where they could sense electricity, just a little bit; it was like a buzzing in the back of their head. "Nico, what do you think those are?" Morgan said, mostly below their breath and not quite really to Nico either. Eventually, the red one was quite close... No, they were on the other side of the hillock, where a stone and a bunch of grass were growed up a bit. In fact, all three of the fires were floating around that area, three bright colors, none looking like natural fire at all. Nico steps in front of Morgan, raises his hackles, and growls.
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