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Post by Vixen on Nov 6, 2019 16:20:21 GMT -6
[time skip a few days, whoo]
Several days after their initial training session, Vixen returned to the park with Sy, this time with another creature in tow with them- Mateo. She had, admittedly, been hesitant about adding his rather commanding presence to their training, but even if they did nothing together today, he would at least be exposed to her. Since she had received him as payment for contributing one of her creatures to a cross, she hadn't had the time to fuss with him, leaving him only half-sold on her presence. Today, that would change! If it went well, both creatures may be getting trained today, rather than just the specter. For now, the beige halfbreed was watching haughtily from a few yards away as Vixen knelt in front of Sy, a chainmail guard on her forearm, laser in the opposite hand.
Vixen had put quite a lot of thought into how she was to teach the specter to bite- something Vixen only knew she could do from previous research. She had spent quite a bit of time agonizing over if an ethereal creature, with no elemental alignment she was sure of quite yet, could do any sort of physical damage. If Sy were to ever be a familiar, Vixen would expect a small degree of protection, after all. Having confirmed Sy's potential, Vixen happily devised a plan and headed to the park.
((Sy 6 | Loyalty 6
Mateo .1 | Loyalty 2))
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Post by Vixen on Nov 6, 2019 16:30:10 GMT -6
Vixen caught Sy's attention with the laser point, shining it directly in front of her. Sy snapped to attention, large ears flicked forward, tongue lolling in a truly ghastly expression as her eyes lit up. As Vixen had hoped, she attempted to bite at the light, receiving nothing as Vixen released the laser's button. When the specter looked around, perturbed, Vixen offered her arm bracer, this time shining the laser on it directly. Sy visibly hesitated before learning forward and lightly touching her face to the dot. As Vixen's first step in this training was just to make Sy comfortable engaging with the brace, she allowed the reward with a chipper, "Yes!" For now, she wanted Sy to touch at the dot, and then they would build into requiring a bite. Meanwhile, Mateo watched with aloof interest, alternating between watching his involuntary companions and grooming his patterned fur with his rough tongue. Vixen had been warned that this cross would be quite disinterested at first, but she was unbothered- Voodoo was aloof initially, after all, and what was he now if not an incredibly loyal steed? Mateo would come around, especially given her ammo... Taking the opportunity to let Sy reset, Vixen produced dehydrated fish treats from her pocket, lobbing one in Mateo's direction and immediately turning back towards Sy.
((Sy 6.1 | Loyalty 6 Spectral Bite 1
Mateo .2 | Loyalty 2))
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Post by Vixen on Nov 6, 2019 16:38:52 GMT -6
Mateo, having been engrossed in his grooming, startled slightly as the gray treat landed abruptly beside his clawed feet. He paused, glancing between the treat and Vixen, and slowly dipped his head to sniff at it. After a moment, a pink tongue darted out and the treat was lapped up unceremoniously, and Mateo returned to his preening. Satisfied that the bribe had been accepted, Vixen returned to Sy. "Ok babe... want more? Watch." Vixen shined the laser directly onto her brace, and this time Sy touched it with less hesitation. "Yes!" As Sy was self-rewarding when she reached the dot, Vixen had no need, as of yet, to give her additional treats. Sy was now watching the brace intently, and when Vixen flashed the laser point to it again, she abruptly snaked her head forward, pressing her nose into the brace. "Good!" It was somewhat disconcerting, watching Sy touch her, knowing they were making contact, but being unable to feel it at all. If her eyes were closed, Vixen would be unable to tell that Sy had touched the brace at all. It was somewhat surreal and off-putting, if she were being honest. Per her research, though, ethereal creatures could occasionally imbue themselves with certain powers and make physical, damaging contact when the situation called for it. They would see...
((Sy 6.2 | Loyalty 6 Spectral Bite 2
Mateo .3 | Loyalty 2))
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Post by Vixen on Nov 13, 2019 15:37:35 GMT -6
Already, Vixen was dreading the transitional step in this training- to shift from touching the dot to forming and solidifying a bite. It was hard to give certain cues to a creature she could not physically touch and move. This sort of move was far easier on drivey, playful creatures, like some of her Vulticus, or an naturally aggressive one such as Aquilia. Sy, while intelligent, was rather stoic, making training offensive moves more difficult and requiring baby steps. On another creature, she likely could have started off with a nip and increase the strength, rather than working the pet up to an open maw at all. Well, I wanted the ethereal experience, and here we are. Shit's hard. Lesson learned. Ah, damn it all... We'll transition to training Mateo after he seems more comfortable with me... should be interesting bouncing back and forth. During this reflection, Mateo had turned over on his side, his long body stretched out in languid fashion. He had no particular interest in befriending Vixen at the moment, but he didn't seem particularly hostile, either, so she supposed that was a perk.
"Ok Sy, now..." Vixen beamed the light to her brace, again praising the specter as she touched the dot. "So you can touch with no problem, but now I've got a puzzle for you." The bright red laser point reflected off the chainmail again, but as Sy touched her nose to it, the laser had been clicked off, leaving her empty-handed. She drew back a fraction and pressed her nose back to the spot, her expression puzzled. This had worked before; now where was her treat? She looked at Vixen, searching for an answer, but Vixen could only shake her head and offer the beam again. "I don't know how to tell you babe, you need to figure it out. Try again."
((Sy 6.3 | Loyalty 6 Spectral Bite 3
Mateo .4 | Loyalty 2))
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Post by Vixen on Nov 13, 2019 16:34:13 GMT -6
Sy looked at the brace carefully, even leaning forward to sniff it- which confused Vixen, given that Sy certainly can't smell a light... or could she? Maybe senses energy fields? Soon Sy stepped back, appearing discouraged or disinterested now that the reward was not immediate. Vixen clicked her tongue and beamed the light onto her brace again, this time allowing Sy to absorb it for just a touch- an easy win to keep her on board with the training. Sy immediately perked up, large ears flipped forward as she awaited Vixen's next prompt. "Ok, let's try again..." Vixen beamed the laser to the brace again, once more making it disappear as Sy tried to touch it. After the specter attempted to contact the metal a second time, she shifted her weight back, visibly agitated. Frustration, however, was something Vixen could work with. Frustrated or irritated animals began to offer alternate behaviors haphazardly in an attempt to get to their desired result. Odds were hopeful that one of those behaviors would be something resembling a bite.
Mateo extended his legs stiffly, stretching each of his olive-colored clawed fingers separately. Gold eyes cracked open as he gazed at the ghostly canine and Humanish before him. That he was reserved and aloof was of his birthright, a combination of proud creatures as he was, but his casual intrigue with Vixen was slowly taking shape. Vixen had been told that gaining trust from these creatures would take a bit of time, but months of seeing one another had worn down the initial guard Mateo had arrived with.
((Sy 6.4 | Loyalty 6 Spectral Bite 4
Mateo 1 | Loyalty 3))
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Post by Vixen on Nov 13, 2019 16:54:25 GMT -6
Sy was clearly vexed. Vixen had stopped offering freebies to her, and thrice now had offered the laser point, only to make it disappear when Sy moved to touch it. Perhaps biting and offensive moves come less naturally to ethereal, given that they don't have to "hunt" the same way, and often don't need to defend themselves. Vixen liked that thought. It made sense to her, and seemed like a valid observation that she would jot down in her training journal. Understanding was a bonus, but it wouldn't prompt Sy to acting out. Instead, Vixen continued to offer and retract the laser beam, ultimately resulting in Sy's transparent tail flickering violently. It twitched sharply side to side, her ears now flat, and from her oversized tongue came an odd glow. Ethereal slobber, perhaps? At long last, when Vixen pressed the laser point, Sy lurched forward with an open mouth, lightly snapping at the spot. "Yes! Good job Sy, what a good job." Her praise was exaggerated in tone, matched by fanatic reward, one laser flash after another directly to the specter. "That is what I'm talking about!"
Mateo jerked up from his nap at Vixen's fanfare, rough-scaled nose wrinkling a bit in casual disdain and irritation. Why had he been brought out here during peak nap hours? His teal-tipped ears tilted back and he lowered his head onto his crossed feet, wings shuffling softly at his side.
((Sy 7 | Loyalty 7 Spectral Bite 5
Mateo 1.1 | Loyalty 3))
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Post by Vixen on Nov 13, 2019 17:13:12 GMT -6
When Vixen presented her brace to Sy again, the specter tried to backtrack to pressing her snout to the spot. When that did not pay off, Sy, still riled from previous attmpts, quickly fell back to snapping at the spot. "Yes! Good girl," she crooned, rewarding her companion. The snap was all motion and no physical force, not that Vixen could feel yet at least, but it was a step. Once Sy would offer the motion consistently, she would start demanding physical force behind it. The motion of a bite was nothing without physical results, unless Sy only was to startle any future adversaries. "Again?" This time, when Vixen shined the laser, Sy snapped at the spot immediately, not unlike a dog trying to capture a fly. "Yes!" Another reward flashed her way. Now Sy was staying in an aroused state; her hype consistently being rewarded made it difficult for her to settle back down. Although her excitement was matched by Vixen's, the other party around them, bored and sitting calmly outside of their training, was less than thrilled. Mateo groaned softly as he stood, shaking his teal mane as he did so, and took a few steps closer to Vixen and Sy. If he could not rest, he might as well being entertained.
((Sy 7.1 | Loyalty 7 Spectral Bite 6
Mateo 1.2 | Loyalty 3))
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Post by Vixen on Nov 13, 2019 17:36:39 GMT -6
As Mateo padded up to them, Vixen kept her eyes on Sy, so as not to place any unintentional pressure on Mateo. She extended a closed fist in his direction, allowing him to set the speed and tone of their interaction. He tilted his head slightly and sniffed it, washing the side of Vixen's hand with warm, dry breath. After a pause, he closed the distance between them, sitting a foot away from her. Kneeling as she was, he toward over her, all limbs and length rather than brawn and bulk. Smothering a pleased grin, Vixen glanced at Mateo from her peripherals for a moment before returning full focus to Sy. She was on her feet, expression eager and ready, eyes searching for the little red beam she loved so dearly. When Vixen flashed it, she snapped again at where it had landed. "Good girl... Ready for a little more?" After she had been rewarded, Vixen trained a laser on her brace- but when Sy snapped at it, Vixen did not reward her. She wanted the physical force behind the bite now, to be able to feel it as an opponent would. Unfortunately, Vixen was hazy on the difficulties that went into manifesting a physical force from a spectral plane- she wasn't sure how difficult it would be, or if Sy was even practiced at accomplishing such.
((Sy 7.2 | Loyalty 7 Spectral Bite 7
Mateo 1.3 | Loyalty 3))
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Post by Vixen on Nov 13, 2019 17:50:36 GMT -6
Having already overcome denial of reward and decoding requirements, Sy was none too pleased to have her reward denied to her again, but was calmer this go around. It presented more as a puzzle than an offense; what could she be doing differently that would garner a reward? Smart beast that she was, she was able to understand the connection between witheld reward and requesting more of her, but unfortunately, that did not help her conclude exactly what Vixen wanted from her. She snapped again, half-heartedly, but of course she was not rewarded. In this situation with a different, physical creature, Vixen would physically push them around, hype them up- obviously, that was not an option here... Or could she create that mental effect? Knowing she couldn't physically push Sy, Vixen instead opted to get in Sy's face. She clapped and began to shout in Sy's face. "C'mon, let's go! Let's go. You can do more, c'mon, get me," she taunted, shoving her brace toward's Sy's face. The specter's ears tilted back, her lip twitching up to show ghostly teeth. "That's right, get mad!" Mateo regretted coming over. He had no idea what was happening between the two of them, but he did know that it was too loud, undignified, and bothered his ears a bit. He shook his head, feathered jewelry swaying with them.
((Sy 7.3 | Loyalty 7 Spectral Bite 8
Mateo 1.4 | Loyalty 3))
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Post by Vixen on Nov 14, 2019 2:10:07 GMT -6
Mateo stood back up, wings slighty held off of his body in an instinctive gesture to appear larger than he was. Though he did not feel necessarily threatened, the sharp and jerky movements made him faintly uncomfortable, leaving him with whispers of fight-or-flight impulse. Something just short of a growl rumbled in his chest, unnoticed by Vixen. Sy was absolutely baffled by Vixen's demeanor. The specter stood stiffly, ears flipped forward, head tilted, tail raised evenly with her bodyline. Vixen had seen that body language often, that heartbeat of calm before an explosion of play or other excitement. Taking this as encouragement, Vixen waved her brace around Sy, training her laser on it on and off to keep her pet's attention. Sy's head twitched this way and that, confused but trying hard to keep track of her treat. The glowy drool from her tongue was dropping in ropes now, fading away into nothingness as soon as they left her muzzle. She lurched forward, stopped as Vixen jerked her arm elsewhere, and stood with a lifted lip as she trained on her target again. Finally, with a hushed grunt, she lunged in earnest, clamping her teeth into the brace. Vixen, having become adjusted to watching contact without feeling it, jumped inwardly when the pressure of the bite reached her arm. Vixen was unsure if it was the padding of the brace, or if Sy's bite was soft, but the pressure was not quite painful, only enough for a brief, dull squeeze.
((Sy 7.4 | Loyalty 7 Spectral Bite 9
Mateo 2 | Loyalty 4))
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Post by Vixen on Nov 14, 2019 2:49:31 GMT -6
Though the pressure was light, the fact that it existed at all triggered an uproarious celebration. "WHOO! Yes! You did it!" Sy was aware of the outpouring of emphatic praise, but was in a daze of satisfaction from one laser point after another rewarding her. She had hit a jackpot reward, finally! Though she remained excited, Sy no longer appeared agitated, even seeming to prance back and forth after absorbing her last laser. "Good girl Sy, you did so good. Such a smart... ghost fox thing?" Or... something like that, anyway. Grinning, Vixen wriggled the brace on her arm, faintly aware of the ache in her shoulder from holding the brace up. She would have to rotate arms soon. "Ok... think you can do that again?" Vixen presented the brace, beaming the laser onto it. "Getit." Sy snapped at the spot, but Vixen withdrew, shaking her head before offering the target again. "Gettit." This time, Sy clamped down with a force similar to the one that had preceded it. "YES, good Sy!" Grumbling, Mateo flapped his wings pointedly in irritation, not unlike a huffy Izer, his tail lashing side to side. Seeing this, Vixen lifted one of her tapered black eyebrows, snorting softly as she fed Sy. "Glad to see your anatomy lets you be passive aggressive and bitchy in multiple body languages. Drama cat."
((Sy 8 | Loyalty 8 Spectral Bite 10
Mateo 2.1 | Loyalty 4))
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