|
Post by Wolf_Rainbowtail on Aug 18, 2013 11:17:19 GMT -5
Sweetheart continued to shake, her fear hormones coursing through her body in a flood that wasn't yet stopped. Her alpha's words didn't make much sense to her. She had never ran away before. In fact, the only time she could even think of something that might possibly qualify as running away was what Kyrarea had done a few seconds ago, even though it had been more of a walk.
Nevertheless, her alpha's much gentler tone of voice and soft stroking eventually helped Sweetheart to calm down and, remembering Kyrarea's shouted orders from a few minutes ago, once she felt she was able to, Sweetheart rolled onto her front and then sat up again, looking at Kyrarea with perked ears, ready to try and make sense of her alpha's rather enigmatic way of training her new behaviours.
She would learn whatever this was quickly, put all her effort into it. She was a good dog, she was. Kyrarea seemed to have forgotten that because of what the dragons had done, but Sweetheart would show her. She would be so good that Kyrarea would never shout at her like that again.
(189) (21.2) (Stay: Continued)
|
|
|
Post by Wolf_Rainbowtail on Aug 18, 2013 11:29:34 GMT -5
Kyrarea blinked in surprise when her Fiero rolled into a sitting position and looked at her expectantly. She had really spooked the poor creature. Small tremors still ran through Sweetheart, but she tried to keep as still as possible, both her ears and eyes pointed in Kyrarea's direction.
Okay, so she did better when she didn't yell at her. Kyrarea was tempted to file the information away in her brain, but realized that was, really, just common sense. Horses didn't react well to loud noises either or a rough hand on the reins. They needed to be gently coaxed into being trained. Or, at least that's the way Kyrarea chose to tame hers. She had heard of other methods of course, but they had usually struck her as being overly cruel and she hadn't used them.
She thought she had taken her gentle, patient horse training ways into the world of Fieros as well, but apparently she hadn't, or, had momentarily forgotten herself. She wouldn't let it happen again. She wouldn't give Sweetheart the opportunity to let it happen again.
"Stay." She said in a firm but not unkind voice, holding her hand up like a stop sign in front of the Fiero.
(203) (21.3) (Stay: Continued)
|
|
|
Post by Wolf_Rainbowtail on Aug 18, 2013 11:37:13 GMT -5
Sweetheart tilted her head at this. Clearly it was a command. Kyrarea had used that word twice now, although the movement hadn't been used the first time. Nevertheless, this one thankfully didn't seem too difficult to figure out. It had taken Sweetheart the longest time to realize that Kyrarea was training behaviours in her, not actually teaching her things that she didn't know. Now, really, all Sweetheart had to do was figure out exactly what Kyrarea wanted of her, and then remember the command for it.
Stay was pretty straight forward though. It meant being in one place, possibly remaining in the sitting pose that Kyrarea had set her in. Why she wanted her to learn this, Sweetheart didn't know, but it was enough that her alpha wanted her to for Sweetheart to want to learn it. She was a good dog, she was. She still hadn't quite gotten over the small incident prior to beginning this trick, and still felt anxious about her alpha's actions. But she was doing what she wanted now, so everything would be okay. She kept telling herself this while remaining as still as possible, watching her alpha for more instructions or some indication that she was behaving incorrectly.
(204) (21.4) (Stay: Continued)
|
|
|
Post by Wolf_Rainbowtail on Aug 18, 2013 11:44:10 GMT -5
Kyrarea held Sweetheart's gaze, an almost challenging expression on her face. She kept waiting for Sweetheart to break the sit so she could correct her, but as the minutes dragged on and her Fiero sat watching her, Kyrarea finally concluded that she wasn't going to. Still with one eye on the Fiero, she reached into her backpack and pulled out a cube of meat, which she fed to Sweetheart in the odd manner she had, flat on her palm, the same way she gave her horses sugar cubes.
Sweetheart made a small sound of surprise and licked the cube of meat out of her alpha's hand, being even more gentle than usual and being careful not to scrape her palm with her teeth.
"Up." As soon as the command was out of Kyrarea's mouth, Sweetheart scrambled to get her back feet under her and push up into a standing position. She panted lightly. Her level of concentration was taking more of her energy than usual, but she wouldn't let herself fail or misinterpret this trick in any way.
"Stay."
(179) (22) (Stay: Continued)
|
|
|
Post by Wolf_Rainbowtail on Aug 18, 2013 11:52:54 GMT -5
Sweetheart of course stayed, fixing her alpha with the same stare as before, ears forward, eyes bright and all of her attention on her. The only difference was her legs, which quivered occasionally, either from the mostly gone now panic from earlier, or from remaining in such a still pose for this long.
And indeed, it was a long time, certainly longer than Kyrarea had made her sit for. She began to sway on her feet, panting heavily, before finally collapsing into a site, flattening her ears and cringing a bit, waiting for Kyrarea to yell at her for getting the trick wrong.
But her Alpha stayed as she was, simply shifting her gaze to Sweetheart's new pose. Because Sweetheart was focusing so much brain power on the trick, she made the connection faster than she might have otherwise. This new behaviour, this stay, seemed to be limited to her being in the same spot, but not her pose in said spot.
She had to test it. Keeping a wary eye on Kyrarea, she laid down, still panting, her alpha's eyes following her but still no words of protest came from her mouth. Yes. Sweetheart had picked up the specifications of this trick. She let the tip of her tail wag happily at her discovery.
(215) (22.1) (Stay: Continued)
|
|
|
Post by Wolf_Rainbowtail on Sept 1, 2013 15:15:26 GMT -5
A few seconds after she had lied down, the words she was waiting for came from her alpha's mouth. "Good girl, Sweetheart." Kyrarea said, and then she was digging in her backpack again and producing another cube of meat for Sweetheart to gently take from her palm. She scratched her Fiero behind the ears as Sweetheart made quick work of the cube, leaning into the unexpected extra reward. She had done good. She had done what her alpha wanted. A smile spread over her face and her tail thumped against the ground as at last she calmed from her earlier fright.
Kyrarea thought she was a good girl, she had proven to her that she was, and she wouldn't yell at her again. This made Sweetheart very happy, and she licked Kyrarea's hand, letting out a short, sharp bark and wagging her tail to let her know she was happy again.
(151) (22.2) (Stay: Continued)
|
|
|
Post by Wolf_Rainbowtail on Sept 1, 2013 15:37:37 GMT -5
Kyrarea smiled too at this behaviour, and she leaned down to kiss Sweetheart on the forehead. "Good girl, you've done well so far today Sweetheart." She ruffled the fur between her Fiero's ears before straightening up again. "But we aren't done yet."
Sweetheart looked up at her, all of her concentration still on her alpha. There was more to the trick than this? She had thought it was pretty straight forward. Then again, this was Kyrarea, who had climbed a tree to try and teach her how to sit. Knowing her, it would likely just be her alpha doing some weird thing to try and- hey, was that a ball?
Kyrarea had pulled a large red rubber ball from her backpack and was waving it in front of Sweetheart. The Fiero bounded to her feet, her tail wagging a mile a minute. Maybe Kyrarea thought she deserved a break? They both loved this game. Kyrarea would throw the ball and Sweetheart would dart after it, trying to catch it before it hit the ground. Then she'd get to chew on it and shake it until she got bored and brought it back to Kyrarea. Yes, the human must have decided that it was time for a break.
(207) (22.3) (Stay: Continued)
|
|
|
Post by Wolf_Rainbowtail on Sept 1, 2013 15:45:03 GMT -5
"Do you want the ball, do you Sweetheart, huh, do you, do you?" Kyrarea was talking in that high pitched voice that always made Sweetheart excited. The Fiero's pink eyes were focused on the round object, and she let out another bark at Kyrarea's question, her tail wagging a mile a minute as Kyrarea's hand went over her head. Her muscles tensed as the human's arm came forward, and the second the ball left her hand, Sweetheart was rushing after it, ready to snap her jaws closed on it while it was still in the air.
"Stay."
The single word, no, command, was spoken in a soft tone, quite unlike Kyrarea's excited one, and it confused Sweetheart so much that she skidded to a standstill, the ball striking the ground a few feet beyond her and bouncing across the grass. She took a few steps towards it, then turned her head back over her shoulder, whining at Kyrarea in confusion.
(160) (22.4) (Stay: Continued)
|
|
|
Post by Wolf_Rainbowtail on Sept 1, 2013 16:34:50 GMT -5
Kyrarea shook her head. "Stay." She told Sweetheart, then began walking toward her Fiero. Sweetheart was confused, even more confused than she had been earlier. She had done something wrong? Kyrarea had never tried to trick her like this before, and she was a little unhappy about it. Her owner didn't seem angry though, but she didn't seem happy either.
She tilted her head when Kyrarea reached her, a questioning look on her face, but then she walked past her! With a whine, Sweetheart took a step forward.
Kyrarea turned her head around. "No." She said firmly. "Stay." Sweetheart whimpered, but did as she was told, watching Kyrarea walk over to where the ball had dropped and pick it up. Kyrarea returned to her, absentmindedly tossing the ball and catching it in one hand. "You need to learn to stay no matter what distractions are going on." Kyrarea told her, although it sounded like she was speaking mostly to herself. "I'm not having you run off after a squirrel or something."
With that, in a quick movement, Kyrarea had thrown the ball again. "Stay." She said to Sweetheart.
(188) (23) (Stay: Continued)
|
|
|
Post by Wolf_Rainbowtail on Sept 1, 2013 17:47:14 GMT -5
Sweetheart's eyes tracked the ball as it soared over her head and bounced across the grass. She whimpered low in her throat, her muscles twitching, eager to chase after it as it landed back where they had started. But Kyrarea had told her to stay, and though she didn't quite understand why she would use the ball as a distraction, she now understood what she was doing.
Sweetheart had been right. She was testing her, and unlike before, it seemed this test was needed, as even now she was having a difficult time waiting for her alpha to slowly walk over and pick up the red ball.
Kyrarea returned to her at a faster pace, a smile now on her face, showing Sweetheart that she had done what she wanted, but the Fiero was still confused. Play time was play time and training time was training time to her. It was odd that Kyrarea had tried to combine the two. Did this mean she was supposed to wait each time she threw the ball from now on?
But her thinking was interrupted by her owner telling her she was a good girl, and even though she was still confused, Sweetheart wagged her tail and accepted the cube of meat from Kyrarea's hand.
(212) (23.1) (Stay: Continued)
|
|
|
Post by Wolf_Rainbowtail on Sept 1, 2013 21:19:49 GMT -5
Sweetheart chewed on the meat, her sharp teeth easily cutting through the dried beef that the cube was made of. She kept her ears perked up and her eyes focused on her alpha, just in case Kyrarea was going to talk any more and tell her more information about what they were working on. Sometimes it was frustrating knowing that her human somehow didn't understand her, but Sweetheart had been with Kyrarea long enough to be used to the odd one way mode of communication.
Kyrarea tossed the ball from one hand to the other as she studied Sweetheart thoughtfully, wondering what she would do next. The Fiero had began to respond to the new command remarkably quickly, not letting even her throwing her favourite ball distract her from the training. Well, not enough to make her think they needed to repeat the exercise, at any rate. Really, there was only one more thing to test, but Kyrarea was very reluctant to do so. She didn't want to leave Sweetheart alone for any amount of time, what if her faithful little mare ran off again?
But if she wanted to be sure she wouldn't, then she would have to have some faith in her, and she had come back, after all.
Kyrarea glanced down to see that Sweetheart was done her treat and was looking at her intently, wondering what they were going to do next. Taking a deep breath, Kyrarea prepared for what would be the final test for this trick.
(252) (23.2) (Stay: Continued)
|
|
|
Post by Wolf_Rainbowtail on Sept 1, 2013 21:25:31 GMT -5
"Sit." She commanded her Fiero, and wasn't at all surprised when Sweetheart's hind legs plopped to the ground as soon as the word left her mouth. "Now stay." I'll be back for you, I promise."
Wait, what? Back for her? Where was she going? Sweetheart's back legs tensed, and she stood back up, not moving from the spot, but whining at her alpha and pawing at the air with one leg. Kyrarea had turned her back on her and was beginning to walk away! The scene from earlier in the day played in Sweetheart's mind, and her whining increased in volume.
"No. Stay." When the command was given again, Sweetheart whined once more, softer than before, and sat back down, watching her alpha closely. Kyrarea walked a few feet away and turned to face Sweetheart, and then a few more after a few minutes, and so on until she was completely out of Sweetheart's field of vision.
(157) (23.3) (Stay: Continued)
|
|
|
Post by Wolf_Rainbowtail on Sept 1, 2013 21:37:02 GMT -5
Really, Kyrarea couldn't think of a situation where she'd ever leave Sweetheart alone like this. She hovered nervously on the very edge of the training meadow, wanting to rush back to her little mare and make sure that she hadn't wandered off. But no, this was important. Kyrarea didn't keep Sweetheart in the house. She was in a partly fenced in field most of the time, like a horse. But Wolf had told Kyrarea that Fieros liked to hunt themselves, and it was easier to let them do so than to try and buy enough food for them. So Kyrarea let Sweetheart hunt, and then one night she had simply not come back.
Today was the first day since she had. Kyrarea was determined to make sure she would never run away again. And that meant testing to make sure she wouldn't.
Sweetheart was bored. The first few minutes of not seeing her owner had been anxiety inducing and she'd wanted nothing more than to just to her feet and race after her, but as she reminded herself that she'd said she'd be back, Sweetheart had calmed down. She could smell her owner's scent trail, and if she was gone for too long, it wouldn't be very difficult to follow it to her.
But now it had been nearly fifteen minutes, which seemed like quite a lot of time for the playful and easily excitable Fiero. With a sigh, she lied down and put her head on her paws, waiting for Kyrarea to return.
(254) (23.4) (Stay: Continued)
|
|
|
Post by Wolf_Rainbowtail on Sept 3, 2013 7:02:07 GMT -5
Well, Kyrarea supposed this extra test did indeed make sense. What if she was training Sweetheart and wanted to run back to the house for something? There would be no need for her little mare to follow her home only to have to turn around and walk right back to the training meadow. As long as she didn't wander off, Kyrarea was fine with leaving her alone. Unlike earth, and unlike horses, Fieros didn't have any predators here, and the small population of people seemed trustworthy; they wouldn't steal her Sweetheart.
Yes, this did make sense, and she did trust her Fiero. Wherever she had been, she had come back, after all, and after this, she wouldn't have to worry about her wandering off. Kyrarea allowed herself to smile, and checked her watch every few minutes. She would head back soon.
By this time, Sweetheart was asleep. Kyrarea had said nothing about her being awake while staying, and once she had calmed down, she felt exhausted from all the energy she had used up while trying to stay so alert. Her striped sides rose and fell in a slow rhythm as she slept in exactly the spot that Kyrarea had told her to remain in.
(205) (24) (Stay: Continued)
|
|
|
Post by Wolf_Rainbowtail on Sept 3, 2013 7:15:41 GMT -5
Well, that should do it. Half an hour was a good amount of time to leave her Fiero alone for. It was around the amount of time she'd have to leave her for if she had forgotten something at the house, and Kyrarea figured that if Sweetheart could stay still for that long, then she'd likely stay for any amount of time. Later, she could modify the trick a bit, teach her to remain in the field but that she could walk around, things like that. She didn't have time for that right now though. There was at least two more things she wanted to teach Sweetheart before the day was done.
Kyrarea's pace increased as she remembered that there was still Come and Follow to train yet. As much as she wanted to make absolutely, positively sure that Sweetheart would stay when she told her, for however long she told her, the other two tricks were more important. If Sweetheart was still there when she got back, she would count this trick a success and move on.
Sweetheart shifted as she heard something, and she grumbled a little bit, her pink eyes fluttering open and falling on Kyrarea's face. She blinked the sleep out of her eyes and her tail started wagging as she noticed the large smile on her face. The memory of what they had been doing before she fell asleep entered the Fiero's mind, and her tail wagged faster as she realized that she had done what Kyrarea had wanted. She had been a good dog.
Kyrarea certainly thought so too. "Good girl Sweetheart, you stayed right where I wanted you too. I told you I'd be back." She stroked her Fiero's head and took out a larger cube of meat than she had given her before. Sweetheart's ears perked up. A larger cube usually meant the completion of a trick. Were they done with this? Did Kyrarea trust her again? Her tail wagged very fast indeed as she carefully took the meat from her alpha.
(340) (24.1) (Stay: Completed)
|
|