|
Post by Noa on May 18, 2019 19:37:53 GMT -6
Grunty Level 95 (2/5); Loyalty 100+ TP used: 65 (30 left) Known: Name (1) Come (1) No (Leave off!) (1) Stay (1) Follow (1) Tack Up (1) Carry Load (2) Pull Buggy (2) Go (1) Stop (1) Turn Left/Right (1) Faster/Slow Down (1) Bridle Knowledge (1) Bash (3) Dig (3) Dash (3) Charge (3) Thunder (4) Breathe Fire (7) Fire Spout (5) Run (3) Endurance (4) Plains-Runner (5) Danger Sense (10) Pending approval: none atm To learn: [] Accept Noise (2) [] Accept Enclosed Spaces (2) [] Accept Sudden Movement (2) [] Accept Darkness (2) [] Accept Bloody/Scary Sights (2) [] Back (1) [] Quiet (2) [] Guard (5) [] At Ease (3) [] Dodge (4) [] Play Dead (4) [] Tail Strike (3) [] Jump (1) [] Pounce (5) [] Horn Strike (2) [] Shield of Stone (15) [] Stone Skin (4)
|
|
|
Post by Noa on May 18, 2019 19:40:19 GMT -6
Okay, if he was being honest, Aster didn’t really think this was a good idea. He was the one who'd had it, but still.
Grunty. Grunty. Aster loved his Thundergug, he really did, but Grunty was… not the brightest bulb in the box. Or, hell, maybe he was, but he just didn’t use it. Whatever the truth was, the end result was an animal who was perfectly happy to go about his days doing… not all that much, as long as someone fed him.
In some ways, it could be worse. It was true that Grunty wasn’t prone to aggression, so in that sense, giving him the ability to roast someone alive wasn’t a terrible decision, in that he probably didn’t intend to use it for evil. That wasn’t what Aster was worried about.
No, what Aster was worried about was that Grunty would just start doing it by accident.
(1)
|
|
|
Post by Noa on May 18, 2019 19:40:53 GMT -6
He’d been thinking rather uncomfortably about just how many buildings on his own land were made of wood. Flammable, flammable wood. It wasn’t a good feeling.
That was why, bright and early the day after the Injection had been administered, he went up with Grunty to a wide, open clearing to work with him. The sooner he taught Grunty how to use his abilities, the less chance there was of everything burning down horribly in an accident. Right?
“So,” said Aster, turning to face the Gug. Grunty was chewing contentedly on the last of his meal, looking pretty much the same as ever. He didn’t seem bothered at all by the fact that he just had liquid magic fire, or whatever it was, shot through his system.
He didn’t make any move to ask why they were here either. One place was the same as another, as far as he was concerned, apparently.
(2)
|
|
|
Post by Noa on May 18, 2019 19:41:06 GMT -6
“How do you… feel? Any different?” Aster said. “Uncomfortable? Itching? Burning, maybe?”
Mmm. No, said Grunty.
Aster sighed. He didn’t know what he was expecting. It was also entirely possible that there were side effects, and that Grunty just hadn’t noticed, but… that was neither here nor there.
For better or for worse, that was what he had to work with. Aster had to think for a long moment. He had come out here to do the work, but he hadn’t really given himself time to think about how he was going to approach it. He had the sinking feeling that if he just told Grunty to breathe out and think ‘hot’, either nothing was going to happen, or it was going to go spectacularly wrong in a way that he hadn’t actually thought of yet.
But he had to try something, and even stupid ideas were ideas. Besides, the injection had to have worked.
(3)
|
|
|
Post by Noa on May 18, 2019 19:41:32 GMT -6
Start: Fire Spout, Breathe Fire
He hadn’t had much faith the first time around, but Avander’s ice abilities were very real, and he’d been through the process twice now, so he wasn’t one to doubt the items themselves anymore.
“Alright, since you’re feeling fine, let’s try some breathing exercises,” said Aster. “Nice and easy, right? It’s just breathing. You can do that.”
Sure can, said Grunty. I’m doing it right now.
Aster patted his leg. “That you are, buddy. Okay, close your eyes. In and out, now… In, and out.” Aster found himself doing the exercise along with Grunty as he guided the ‘Gug through it. Fortunately it was pretty easy to ascertain whether Grunty was following along. He was big enough that it would have been real noticeable if he wasn’t taking a deep breath in.
After a few repetitions, Aster said, “Now I want you to exhale through your mouth. Can you do that for me? In… and out through the mouth.”
(4)
|
|
|
Post by Noa on May 18, 2019 19:42:16 GMT -6
Grunty did as instructed. What came out wasn’t fire--- not that Aster really expected fire, not yet, that would be both too easy and too dangerous--- but Grunty did manage a belch. And the belch of a Thundergug was no small thing either. Aster, having already been a little on edge from the prospect of training Grunty to do this, did a little jump.
The ‘Gug stopped and nosed him. Are you okay? he asked.
Aster sighed. “Yeah, I’m fine,” he said. “Just a little surprised. Let’s keep going. In, and out… Open your mouth… good. Now, I want you to think of… of being outside when it’s chilly,” Aster said. He was really just making it up as he went, but sometimes you had to just go with your gut. Their telepathic link helped a lot in this regard; Aster could do some of the imagining for Grunty.
(5)
|
|
|
Post by Noa on May 18, 2019 19:42:29 GMT -6
Aster had never liked the cold, which made it very memorable, and it didn’t take much for him to craft the mental space: just a bit of a chill, like a crisp autumn day, and not the worst of the winter weather.
This is a weird game. said Grunty.
“Yeah, I know,” said Aster. Boy did he ever know it. “Just bear with it. Now, in this game, you’re nice and warm inside. Feel it?” Aster focused his thoughts on the heat within each of their own bodies now, the curl of it inside the belly, a ward against the cold.It was an exercise he had done for very different reasons when he had been younger, to focus on that instead of how cold his extremities were, on the nights when he’d had to sleep outside in bitter weather. He was pretty sure his younger self would never have imagined this application for it though.
(6)
|
|
|
Post by Noa on May 18, 2019 19:42:48 GMT -6
“Inhale… and on the exhale, you’re going to breathe out that warmth into the cold. Ready? Breathe out,” Aster said.
Grunty breathed out, and a spout of flame came with it.
“Holy shit,” said Aster. He hadn’t been standing in front of Grunty’s mouth, he wasn’t that stupid, but in retrospect maybe he should have been standing further away. He didn’t think Grunty was going to get it right so quickly.
Well, that would show him for underestimating Grunty. Or the power of science. Whichever of the two it was.
“Hey, that’s great,” said Aster, patting his leg again. It was an effort to reach any higher on something of Grunty’s size.
That’s never happened before, said Grunty, dumbfounded.
“Right…” Aster considered for a moment the idea of explaining to Grunty what had actually happened, with regards to the injection and all, but he dismissed the idea again almost immediately.
(7)
|
|
|
Post by Noa on May 18, 2019 19:43:20 GMT -6
It was going to be too complicated, and it was going to waste time on something that, in truth, Grunty probably didn’t care too much about.
If it became an issue, there would always be time later.
“Don’t worry about it,” Aster said. “You can do it now. Let’s see… When I say ‘fire spout’, you’re going to do what you just did. Alright?”
I’ll try, Grunty said. He didn’t sound all that confident, but then, it was just his first time having done it. They would get there. Aster gave him another pat, then went to stand somewhere a little further away.
“Ready?” he said. Grunty didn’t give a reply, but he also didn’t look as though he was trying to prepare himself, so Aster took it as a yes. “Okay. Fire spout.”
Grunty had to think for a long moment, and he breathed in deep, but when he breathed out, a little trickle of flame came out.
(8)
|
|
|
Post by Noa on May 18, 2019 19:43:40 GMT -6
Which was… not bad, considering he was doing it on his own this time. “Good effort,” Aster said. “Next time, try to think, ‘boom’.” He projected the thought of a little burst of flame into Grunty’s head. “Can you try that?”
I’ll try, came the reply.
“Good. Okay. Fire spout.”
This time the result was much closer to what Aster had been hoping for, a nice little burst of flame. “Hey, great! You got it. Just like that,” Aster said.
I did it? said Grunty.
“You did it,” said Aster. “But let’s try it a few more times, just for consistency.” Having seen Grunty do it once wasn’t exactly reassuring. Aster wanted to make sure he could manage the level of flame produced, and that he could consciously call on it when the need arose. After all, part of the intent was to have him use it in a fight eventually, and it would be pretty unfortunate if he failed at an important time.
(9)
|
|
|
Post by Noa on May 18, 2019 19:43:51 GMT -6
End: Fire Spout
This time he didn’t give Grunty any lead up. They’d practiced the command word enough that Grunty ought to recognize it by now. “Fire spout,” Aster said.
Grunty opened his mouth, and another burst of flame came out. “Good job. Now, let’s try again…”
They practiced the same technique many more times, until Aster was confident that Grunty had the technique down. A nice side effect was that all the practice made Grunty a lot faster at it than he had been before. Eventually, Aster pronounced himself satisfied, and decided to move on.
“So that was a burst of fire, but I think you should be able to do more. So I want you to think big fire this time. Like…” Like setting your house on fire, Aster almost said, but he didn’t want to give Grunty that kind of idea, in case he decided to actualize it. “Like a big roaring campfire. You’ve seen those before, right?”
(10)
|
|
|
Post by Noa on May 18, 2019 19:44:01 GMT -6
Aster provided a helpful mental image of a bonfire just in case. They had them sometimes, especially in the fall. Aster had always quite liked fire, so long as he could control it. He was no arsonist, but he appreciated the warmth.
Grunty made a low rumble, which Aster interpreted as acknowledgement of his request. “Well, if you can’t do it on the first try, that’s no big deal either,” Aster said. No sense in adding more pressure to him if it wasn’t needed. “Let’s just give it a go. I’m going to ask you to ‘breathe fire’, and you’re going to think of a big fire like this one, and that’ll be your breath. Got it?”
Grunty agreed that he would try, but there was no telling if the concepts were beginning to get too abstract for him. “Alright. Breathe fire, Grunty,” Aster said. This time he was standing well away, in case Grunty’s prodigious streak proved to be catching.
(11)
|
|
|
Post by Noa on May 18, 2019 19:44:33 GMT -6
Grunty opened his mouth and breathed. A gout of flame came out, larger than the last, but not… quite what Aster was hoping for. “Hmm,” Aster said. “A little bigger this time. A little hotter. It’s a real big bonfire we’re thinking of, alright?” And they tried it a few more times, and there was improvement, but it also felt like Grunty was definitely hitting a wall with this.
Aster thought on this issue for a moment. Maybe it would be easier if he could give Grunty some kind of motivation… But he didn’t think food was the answer in this case, which only really left him with… what, emotional investment?
Was there something Grunty hated that was flammable and disposable?
Well, they were playing thinking games anyhow. Maybe it didn’t have to be the thing itself in question. “Hey,” Aster said. “Hold on a minute. I’ll be right back.”
(12)
|
|
|
Post by Noa on May 18, 2019 19:45:27 GMT -6
To his credit, waiting had always been a strength of Grunty’s. He didn’t seem to have a capacity for boredom as long as no one was asking him to do much, which did, among other things, make him a great pack animal. He was still waiting where he had been left when Aster got back, and watched with the vaguest interest as Aster constructed a shabby-looking four-legged thing made of sticks and cloth.
Stepping back from his handiwork, Aster grimaced, but it would have to do. “Let’s try this again. Grunty, you remember that time we went to pick something up, you and me and Rabbit and Summer?” Aster said.
Oh. Him, Grunty said. Aster wanted to stifle a laugh. His guess had been on the money. There was such a sullen note in Grunty’s usually mild and placid voice that he really was quite tempted to laugh.
(13)
|
|
|
Post by Noa on May 18, 2019 19:45:55 GMT -6
It hadn’t been funny at the time--- that halfbreed had given them a good deal of trouble. One of the alarming capabilities it had revealed was, in fact, the same one that Aster was trying to invoke in Grunty now. But they had come out of it with none of them permanently worse for wear, and now it had done Aster the favor of imparting at least a slightly useful grudge for him to work with.
“Right, and we don’t like him, do we?” Aster said. Grunty snorted and stamped his foot, the closest that Aster had ever seen to him expressing overt aggression when not on command. “So let’s imagine that this is him, and light him on fire as hard as you can. You think you can do it?”
Aster expected Grunty to say ‘I’ll try’ this time too, but this time Grunty replied with, I’ll do it.
(14)
|
|