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Post by Noa on Apr 15, 2020 22:43:57 GMT -6
Grunty moved off, but this time Aster didn't come with him. Grunty stopped for a moment, looking back, but Aster said, "I'm not coming with you this time. You can do it. Run!"
Grunty grumbled, but he ran to the other side without any real issue. Once he was there, he looked around, as if expecting to find his treat there. That... would have been a good idea, actually, except Aster hadn't had quite that much foresight. Well, that and a dropped snack was free game for Grunty, and that would have been a waste of a treat if he had seen Aster do it. Ah well.
"My bad, your treats are back here with me. Run and you can have one! Run!" Aster called across the field to him, though honestly, with the ribbon, there was no need for him to do anything like yelling to Grunty to make himself heard.
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Post by Noa on Apr 15, 2020 22:44:12 GMT -6
Grunty wasn't happy about it, but he ran back, and as soon as he got his treat, his bad mood lifted like it had never been there in the first place. He was, as ever, a simple guy.
Aster had him practice running and dashing a few more times, then called it a day. They had drilled the commands to the point where Grunty understood them, and there was no issue with his obedience, at least. It was just the speed, and the matter of his stamina, that was the issue.
And that meant more practice. They came out the next day and did more of the same. Aster asked him to dash until it looked like he couldn't anymore, and then alternated bouts of dashing with bouts of running. For the second session, Aster didn't ask him to go any faster, but by the third session, Aster began timing him.
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Post by Noa on Apr 15, 2020 22:44:25 GMT -6
After a few initial runs to build up a reference point, Aster began pushing for his faster times as the cutoff; and if he was any slower, he wouldn't get the treat.
This caused a great deal of wailing and complaints, but eventually he gave up, and began trying to run faster in earnest. His efforts paid off, if slowly. Aster helped him out as much as he could too, teaching him little skills here and there like moderating his breathing. "Make sure you're breathing enough, but pace yourself," Aster said. "Take deep breaths. In and out... In and out... Fill out your belly. Now a little faster."
Grunty did as Aster told him, and his efficiency did improve a little with that.
"And over nice flat ground like this, you want to be light on your feet. Don't slap them into the ground like you're trying to make noise," Aster said, commenting on his footwork next.
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Post by Noa on Apr 15, 2020 22:44:36 GMT -6
This was advice from his own experience, and though it was a bit much to ask a Gug to move delicately, he could at least move a little less heavily. "Step like you're bouncing a little. Like this." Aster demonstrated for him, bouncing from foot to foot. Grunty stared at him, but Aster let him, unsure as to whether he was studying the movements or if he just thought Aster was off his rocker.
{Oh, like jumping,} Grunty said. {Like pouncing to catch something in the big pit.} And then he reproduced the motion, with considerably less grace, but more or less the right idea.
"Hey, there you go, big guy. Now just try running like that."
{Running...} Grunty seemed daunted by this idea, but Aster just patted him on the shoulder.
"It's okay if you don't get it right away. But keep trying it, okay? I'll give you double treats if you can do it."
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Post by Noa on Apr 15, 2020 22:44:47 GMT -6
That was sufficient motivation to erase all hesitation in the Gug. Well, maybe having a creature with simple motivations wasn't such a bad thing. "Ready? Dash!"
Grunty got slower before he got faster, since the added work of concentrating on Aster's advice about footwork meant he didn't pay as much attention to being fast. But over time, he did improve in terms of both his endurance and his speed. After so many hours spent running and sprinting on the flat stretch of grass, and refining his techniques, he was finally consistently moving at a pace to Aster's satisfaction. Moreover, all the practice had made him resilient enough that he could dash repeatedly, in succession, without exhausting himself. He didn't like to do it, but it didn't leave him panting for breath, and if Aster made it worth his while, he would run or dash his heart out.
That was a good start, as far as an endurance competition, right?
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Post by Noa on Apr 16, 2020 10:48:45 GMT -6
There was just one more thing Aster wanted Grunty to learn, at least in preparation for the endurance competition. Of course, in terms of things Aster wanted him to learn period, there was a long way to go... But one step at a time.
This next move ought to be a little more in Grunty's wheelhouse, just because the speed that he was moving at wasn't as much of a critical deciding factor. But then, they had just been working on his speed, so that wasn't really the issue here anymore. Still, a charging Thundergug was so classic as to be a stereotype, almost, so it was kind of a shame Grunty didn't know how to do it just yet.
Aster set up a target in the field they were working in. It was an old, beat-up thing on a thin stake, which would snap as soon as Grunty ran over it, but the stake was easily replaced.
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Post by Noa on Apr 16, 2020 10:52:21 GMT -6
"Look here," he said to Grunty. "Today I'd like you to learn how to charge at an enemy."
{More fighting?} said Grunty. {Will we be fighting someone again soon?} He seemed neither excited nor bothered by the prospect, so Aster figured he just wanted to know in case it came up.
"No, not soon," Aster said. Or, well, he hoped it wasn't soon, anyway. If anyone decided to make a harebrained visit to his private property, then that was another matter, but he hadn't got any plans to take Grunty to the Pit anytime soon. "This is just practice. But don't you think everyone would be so scared if they saw you running right at them, swinging your head like a fiend?"
{Why?} said Grunty.
"Well, you're so big. If you ran into someone, you'd probably knock them flying," Aster said. To drive it home, he sent Grunty a telepathic image of what he had in mind.
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Post by Noa on Apr 16, 2020 10:56:40 GMT -6
A Gug might be slow, but once they got going, it was hard for anyone to stop them. And if they happened to run into you, well, that was too bad, wasn't it?
{Oh,} said Grunty. Aster thought he sounded rather pleased. {Yes, I'm very big. Enemies should be careful.}
"That thing I just showed you," Aster said. "Do you think you could do it?"
{Running? We did running,} Grunty said.
Aster resisted the urge to sigh again. Well, strictly speaking, he wasn't wrong. A charge had a lot more momentum behind it if he was already running. And in a sense, charging was sort of just 'running, but at a target'. Still, there were a few little differences. "When you run, you're running to make yourself harder to hit," Aster said. He hadn't actually explained this part to Grunty when he was teaching the Gug how to run, and now he figured he ought to.
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Post by Noa on Apr 16, 2020 11:00:04 GMT -6
Aster went on. "But when you charge, you're going straight for the enemy. You want to hit them with your body. Ram into them." Aster showed him the mental image again. "Like that. Since you're running into them, it hurts a lot when you hit them, right?"
{Oh,} said Grunty, in a tone of understanding. {Okay. You'll give me treats if I do this?}
Ah, the treats. "Yeah, yeah, you'll get fed," Aster said. "The word to listen for is 'charge', okay?" Grunty flicked his ears, and Aster pointed out the target that he had set up. "I want you to run at that thing, pretend like it's a person." Maybe it wasn't the best thing that he was using human shaped targets as the target practice, but to be honest, Aster wasn't worried. Unless Aster was there to provoke him into it, Grunty wasn't motivated enough to attack people himself.
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Post by Noa on Apr 16, 2020 11:03:40 GMT -6
"Ready? Charge!"
Aster gave the command, and Grunty started moving. It was a bit like watching a freight train start, or maybe like watching a boulder rolling down a hill. He started slow, but gathered speed quickly. Aster was all ready to see him smash the target to smithereens, but at the last minute he swerved to the side.
"Hey, what gives, big guy?" Aster said. He wasn't reprimanding Grunty just yet, not when he thought there might be something genuinely amiss. "Aren't you going to run it over?"
{I am,} said Grunty. {I just have to prepare myself.}
Aster frowned, scratching at his head. Grunty wasn't usually timid, but it was true that he hadn't done this before. "Alright, whenever you're ready," Aster said. Grunty paced back a bit, swung his head around and pawed the ground, and then Aster gave the signal to him once again. "Alright Grunty, charge!"
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Post by Noa on Apr 16, 2020 11:07:19 GMT -6
Grunty ran at the target a second time, but again, he swerved off at the last second. Okay, so there was definitely a problem here. "What's the matter?" Aster said, trying to sound as understanding as possible. "Don't you want the treat?"
{I want it,} Grunty replied immediately. The hesitation came a moment later. {But... What if it hurts?}
"What?" Aster said, blinking. "Oh, you mean the target?" He frowned, looking at the flimsy scarecrow-looking thing on its pathetic little stake. "Come on. You're a big guy. It's not going to hurt you."
{I don't know,} said Grunty.
"Okay, come here," Aster said, leading Grunty to the target. "Just standing here, try knocking it over with your head. You can do that, right?" The Gug seemed uncertain, but Aster managed to cajole him into it, and once he put some effort into it, he bowled it over as though the target were nothing.
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Post by Noa on Apr 16, 2020 11:10:06 GMT -6
"See? It snaps so easily. I'll set it up again the same way, and you can try again." Aster did just that, then set out a piece of bamboo between the target and Grunty for good measure. "Okay, if you can charge through the target, you can have that treat. How's that?" He could see the gleam of motivation lighting in Grunty's eyes, which had to be a good sign, right? "Ready? Charge!"
And just like that, it went off without a hitch. Grunty plowed through the target, snapping it neatly in half, then stopped at the treat and bent his head down to eat it up.
"So how was it?" Aster said. "Did it hurt?"
{I didn't feel anything,} Grunty replied.
"What'd I tell you? It's not that scary, is it?" Aster said. He gave Grunty's side a solid pat, then went off to set up the target once more.
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Post by Noa on Apr 16, 2020 11:13:07 GMT -6
"Now that you know it doesn't hurt, can you do it?" Aster said, once he had finished setting up the target. Grunty gave him a wordless assent, and Aster grinned. "Alright, let's try it again then. Charge." He got out of the way right before he gave the command. This time, without any more reservations, Grunty ran for the target right away. Just like his last attempt, he handily snapped it in half.
"Good," Aster said, feeding him a treat. But practice made perfect, so Aster set up the target yet again. "Charge!" On his signal, Grunty ran it over again, and then a fourth time, and a fifth. The first training session was just with the flimsy target getting Grunty used to the motion and the command.
When they came back the next day, Aster had a variety of targets with him, some of which were heavier than the flimsy one had been.
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Post by Noa on Apr 16, 2020 11:16:52 GMT -6
He decided to change tacks though, and opted for things that wouldn't have to be staked into the ground. Most opponents wouldn't be either, and he figured that might have been part of what had thrown Grunty off in the first place, so sandbags and training dummies it was.
They started with the lightest targets, and then moved on to progressively heavier ones. Aster half expected Grunty to balk at some of them, but it seemed that between getting over his apprehension yesterday, and the progressive way they were moving from lighter to heavier targets, his misgivings had been sufficiently assuaged. He didn't swerve again, and mowed through each successive iteration of target as necessary, sending all but the heaviest of them flying off to the side. Even the sand bags were ultimately bowled over, which wasn't as dramatic as being sent flying, but was still a sufficient result for Aster's purposes.
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Post by Noa on Apr 16, 2020 11:19:06 GMT -6
"Well, that wraps that up," Aster said, dusting off his hands and surveying the field, which was strewn with stray things. Grunty was off to one side, eating contentedly. This whole place had been turned into a mess, which would be his job to clean... The joys and rewards of training, he supposed.
Still, he had done worse chores before, and Grunty had learned everything Aster wanted him to know in preparation for the endurance contest. Now it was just a matter of figuring out what to actually do for it... He'd participated in a couple of them ages and ages ago, but boy, he couldn't remember any of it very well. It had happened while he had still been living in the city, and now he hardly knew what possessed him to do them in the first place.
Well, he was sure he'd figure something out when the time came.
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