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Post by Wolf D. Plasma on Apr 26, 2013 15:43:37 GMT -5
Zephyr tilted his head at her before he snorted and sat down again. He laid his ears back, waiting, somewhat impatiently, for his alpha to explain herself.
River just stared at him, totally not understanding why he was starting to get difficult with her. He had done a really good job last time, but why was he acting so bent out of shape? Was he tired of this already? Then she realized something; she hadn't been giving him a proper explanation of what they were doing. Stay was probably one of the harder tricks to learn, unlike sit which was pretty obvious. But wasn't stay sort of obvious too? Perhaps not, because after all, babies needed to be taught meanings as well before they could understand it in full, besides just the word.
"I take it that you are looking for an explanation, huh?" she said now. Zephyr, expression softening now, nodded his head in response.
(Word Count: 166) (Level 34 1/5) (Stay: Continued)
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Post by Wolf D. Plasma on Apr 26, 2013 21:09:34 GMT -5
"Oh," River said now, cocking an ear to the side. "I probably should have realized that I should have explained what we were doing before actually getting started," she said.
Zephyr nodded again.
"Well, in that case, I should likely get on with it," she said. "To stay somewhere is to remain in that spot or general area, rather than wandering off somewhere. If someone tells you to stay, you will have to stay in that area until they tell you otherwise."
Zephyr tilted his head now. He could understand that, but what were the reasons behind it? What was the point in learning how to stay somewhere? Wouldn't his alpha want him to follow her?
"I need you to learn this because there are some things that I need to do alone, and unfortunately, the only other way to get you to stay put would be to keep you sitting still all the time," River continued. "I don't think you would want to stay sitting for too long, right?"
(Word Count: 181) (Level 34 2/5) (Stay: Continued)
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Post by Wolf D. Plasma on May 8, 2013 17:18:28 GMT -5
Zephyr flicked an ear, thinking about what his alpha had just said. Well, he certainly did not like sitting around if it was only going to keep him there. Actually, he did not like being kept confound anywhere, but what his alpha wanted made sense, or at least, it did now.
He finally nodded to her in answer. He would do anything to please his alpha, even if it was something he did not like, unless he felt she was pushing it too much.
River nodded back to him with a smile. "Shall we try again?" she asked now. Zephyr nodded again eagerly.
River grinned. "Okay then, stay." Zephyr stayed where he was, gazing intently at his alpha. When River began walking backward, he did not move. Even as she turned her back to him and began walking away, he didn't move. River grinned at this, and eventually left the training meadow, before hiding in some tall grass.
(Word Count: 170) (Level 34 3/5) (Stay: Continued)
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Post by Wolf D. Plasma on May 9, 2013 19:32:29 GMT -5
Zephyr must have dozed off or something, because suddenly he found himself alone in the Training Meadow. He blinked, flicking his ears multiple ways as if to pick up on any sounds that may clue him into where his alpha went. He looked around where he was, trying to see if he could spot his alpha somewhere. He could not.
Eventually he stood up to go find her, but then he remembered; his alpha told him to stay where he was. He sighed before sitting down again, flicking his middlemost tail. He did not want to upset his alpha by leaving his spot.
Moments turned to minutes, and eventually those turned to hours as Zephyr stayed put. He yawned and looked up at the sky. It has been a long while since River was away; he wondered if she was doing okay.
(Word Count: 151) (Level 34 4/5) (Stay: Continued)
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Post by Wolf D. Plasma on May 9, 2013 19:33:37 GMT -5
But just as he stood up again to break his promise and go find her, he suddenly saw his alpha come into sight. He couldn't restrain himself from jumping and barking at her, all nine of his tails wagging, but he didn't move from his spot.
River grinned as she came over to him. Zephyr licked her face when she got close enough, tails still wagging. River nuzzled him and petted him in response. "I wasn't gone for too long, was I?" she asked, somewhat puzzled by Zephyr's reactions. "You did great today, you know."
Zephyr gazed into her eyes as a smile creased his face. He still didn't really like the idea of having to be separate from his alpha like that, but if she wanted, or even needed that, he was willing to do it.
"You wanna call it a day?" River asked now. "I think it's starting to turn dark..."
Zephyr nodded before he yawned again. River couldn't help but giggle before they started on their way home.
(Word Count: 183) (Level 35) (Stay: Finished)
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Post by Wolf D. Plasma on Jun 6, 2013 10:47:10 GMT -5
A new dawn, a new day, or at least, that was how the saying went. River and Zephyr were once again on their way back to the Training Meadow. They got up early that morning, so River figured that they'd have enough time to get some more tricks in than last time. River had some special tricks in mind to start out with as sort of a warm up before they dived into some of the more advanced tricks that she had in mind for that day.
Zephyr trotted right behind his alpha, eager as ever to learn more tricks. He hoped that there would be a great variety today, since they had all the time in the world today for that kind of thing.
As they finally reached the Training Meadow, River took a moment to stop and review to herself what to teach first.
(Word Count: 152) (Level 35 1/5)
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Post by Wolf D. Plasma on Jun 7, 2013 20:44:17 GMT -5
Eventually, River took out the training list that had everything that she could teach, with all the things Zephyr knew scratched out. She scanned the list, mentally picking out the tricks that she wanted to do today, and eventually came down to one particular trick on that list; Accept Name.
River blinked at this particular trick before reading its description. She blinked again before looking up at Zephyr, who was sitting down a little ways away from her, patiently waiting for what he was going to learn today.
Then River smiled at him before rolling up the list again and putting it away. She approached Zephyr and began massaging his cheeks with her three-fingered paws. "Have you ever wondered why I say 'Zephyr' a lot around you?"
Zephyr pricked his long ears up at his alpha before he tilted his head at her.
(Word Count: 150) (Level 35 2/5) (Accept Name: Began)
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Post by Wolf D. Plasma on Jun 11, 2013 12:16:35 GMT -5
River grinned. "I could probably take that as a 'yes'," she said as she just continued massaging his cheeks. Zephyr took that moment to relax his head and allow for the soothing sensations against his cheeks to set in. Then River stopped rubbing them, and she took a few steps back before looking up at Zephyr again.
Zephyr nearly lost his balance for the moment when the soothing feeling was suddenly gone, before he steadied himself again. He shook his head before tilting it the other way at his alpha, wondering why she would stop something so beautifully soothing.
River chuckled slightly. "Sorry, Zephyr," she said. "I didn't realize that you had gone to La La Land so quickly, otherwise I would have done that more slowly. She grinned faintly before patting his head. Zephyr closed his eyes and gave a happy whine when she touched his head.
(Word Count: 158) (Level 35 3/5) (Accept Name: Continued)
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Post by Wolf D. Plasma on Jun 14, 2013 13:37:13 GMT -5
River removed her paw from Zephyr's head now, and he looked up at her with his long, vulpine ears erect. He definitely seemed ready for something, although after the little, minor incident they had with him practically losing touch with reality there, River was not entirely sure if Zephyr actually understood what she was saying, if he was paying attention at all.
"Hey Zephyr, did you understand what I said to you earlier?" River asked, tilting her head to the side. Zephyr tilted his head back at her. He thought for a moment, before he slowly nodded, figuring that it was about that weird word she kept talking with when addressing him. He had always wondered about that word, and he would definitely love for an explanation on it, why it was used.
"Good," River said with a smile. "That will definitely make this a whole lot easier without having to repeat myself."
(Word Count: 160) (Level 35 4/5) (Accept Name: Continued)
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Post by Wolf D. Plasma on Jun 14, 2013 13:51:20 GMT -5
Zephyr sat down in front of his alpha now, giving her every bit of attention that he could muster at that given moment.
River cleared her throat. "Well, to put it simply, 'Zephyr' is your name," she said. Zephyr tilted his head at this. Name? What name? He had a name? And why that weird word? So many questions, and he was unable to ask any of them.
River only chuckled at Zephyr's set of confused expressions. "I can definitely tell that you're very confused about all this..." she said. "But I can assure you, it is a relatively simple concept to understand. 'Zephyr' is what I call you. 'Zephyr' is the name that I gave you when you were a pup. It may not be your true name, because I'm sure you have a name that others of your kind address you by, but sadly I'm not a Fiero and likely wouldn't be able to address you by that name..."
(Word Count: 175) (Level 36) (Accept Name: Continued)
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Post by Wolf D. Plasma on Jun 14, 2013 15:58:01 GMT -5
River paused from speaking now and looked at Zephyr. Zephyr had tilted his head to the other side, but he did seem much less confused compared to how he had been before, which River took as evidence that at least some of what she had said managed to get to him in a way that he understood. But that was only half the battle; she still needed to know if he could actually respond to her when his name was called.
Almost as if on cue with her thoughts, a sudden idea popped into her head.
"Hey Zephyr..." Zephyr's ears pricked up a little more at the mention of his new name. River blinked at this before continuing. "How about we play a little game with this new info, to get you better familiarized with your name.
Zephyr tilted his head at her before nodding.
"Okay, what I want you to do is, whenever I say your name, you bark at me, or nod your head, however you want to acknowledge that you understand it.
Zephyr tilted his head the other way before he nodded at this as well, showing that he understood.
(Word Count: 203) (Level 36 1/5) (Accept Name: Continued)
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Post by Wolf D. Plasma on Jun 14, 2013 15:59:21 GMT -5
River nodded back. "Okay then, here we go," she said. "Breadcrumb."
Zephyr cocked an ear to the side in confusion before tilting his head. Wait, that wasn't his name...
"Cucumber."
That wasn't his name either, Zephyr mused to himself. What was she doing?
"Zephyr."
Zephyr immediately pricked his ears up that this. Yes, that was his name. He barked. River grinned faintly.
"Buddy. Windy. Fenrir."
Zephyr did not respond to either of those.
"Zephyr."
Zephyr barked.
"Zephyr."
Once more, Zephyr barked. It was relatively clear that he understood at least what word that he was expected to respond to. River nodded at this with a grin.
"Well, looks like you know your name," she said. Zephyr nodded.
"Well, in that case then, I think we're done here," she said with a smile.
(Word Count: 157) (Level 36 2/5) (Accept Name: Finished)
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Post by Wolf D. Plasma on Jun 17, 2013 16:46:11 GMT -5
Zephyr barked happily; now he could tell when his alpha called him. How nifty is that little tidbit of knowledge? It felt weird having another name to respond to, but at least he could tell when his alpha was addressing him, or anyone for that matter.
"Now with that out of the way, we can move on to some of the more fun and interesting tricks," River said with a grin. "I know I've got plenty to teach you today."
Zephyr nodded eagerly at his alpha, wrapping up his tails into one big bundle and wagging them as if they were all one tail. He was definitely ready to learn more, to make his alpha proud of him, and maybe even show off what he can do a little, besides attack things with his teeth.
"Now, this trick may not be a real step-up in complexity from what we've already been doing, but you may find it to be similar to one of your other commands," she continued. "Now, lie down."
(Word Count: 179) (Level 36 3/5) (Lie Down: Began)
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Post by Wolf D. Plasma on Jun 17, 2013 21:44:58 GMT -5
Zephyr tilted his head at his alpha before sitting down lightly on his haunches. He stayed there for a good few moments, and before his alpha could say anything to him in protest, he laid down, almost perfectly. If he wasn't very much canine, he'd almost look like one of those Sphinx down in Egypt or something; that was how perfect it was. River was almost surprised at how well he managed to do that, but she knew not to judge too much.
Zephyr held that position for another good few moments, before he started getting a little devilish. First he relaxed his legs, and then he flopped down on his side. After a good few moments of keeping that position, he rolled onto his back and looked at his alpha from upside down, tongue lolling lazily out of his mouth. The appearance was rather comical.
(Word Count: 153) (Level 36 4/5) (Lie Down: Continued)
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Post by Wolf D. Plasma on Jun 17, 2013 21:54:50 GMT -5
Despite the fact that what it had turned into was definitely not what she was looking for, River could not help but snort at the pose Zephyr was making. In fact, she could not help but burst out laughing at it. Well, something really good must have happened to Zephyr back when he met that female and came home with a puppy, because no matter how one looked at it, had they known Zephyr since he was a puppy, one would think this to be rather unusual.
However, it wasn't, and it hadn't been for quite some time. Zephyr was showing off his playful side; there was definitely nothing wrong with that. However, they needed to get back to being serious soon, because training was serious business, and although she would allow the occasional playful acts, they needed to get serious again and focused on the task at hand.
(Word Count: 154) (Level 37) (Lie Down: Continued)
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