Tamer Training [Spec + Beast Training w/Jingyi]

“How long should we wait?” The question was directed towards the wolf resting curled up in the grass. It was obvious to Endolf that his partner wasn’t in any kind of rush to leave just yet. Today he was going to finally get around to doing that training with his partner he had been wanting to do for a while but hadn’t had the time or motivation for. But it was also more than just that. The girl he had met out in the mountains, Jingyi, had asked if he would be willing to help her train her train her own beast as well. The Fanalis didn’t see any problems with the girl’s request and thought it was at least a way to make his own training entertaining enough.

With a sigh he looked away from Raijin, who had obviously started taking a nap, and leaned back against a large rock in an attempt to get comfortable himself. He had decided the wide open spaces of the outskirts of Kou was an appropriate place for such a basic training as what they would be doing and since he had no idea what kind of beast Jingyi herself had felt it would be the better option for now.
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Spec Training WC: 207/1000

Raijin:

Jingyi sighed softly as she regarded her goat with frustration, her arms crossing themselves over her chest. The Ferrum Carpa seemed to return the look, one of its front hooves stomping in the dirt as it backed.

Ever since meeting Dullahan he had been a grump towards her, ignoring the orders she tried to give him and even doing whatever he wanted to do. While she was warned that his breed was known for their feistiness, Jingyi wasn't expecting such a problem with him. Though, she was certain that after some training and bonding, Dullahan would surely warm up to her.

But at the moment, she was at a loss for what to do. The moment she mentioned that they would be training with someone and his wolf, Dullahan had refused to budge. She tried urging the troublesome goat to get him going, but his response was to just give her a shock.

"C'mon, Dullahan. Just give it a try? I promise it'll be fun! Pluuuusss, we'll get along better! I mean, you're gonna be stuck with me," Jingyi told the goat, tightening her grip on the lead that her brother given her to make sure Dullahan wouldn't run off.

The goat in question snorted in Jingyi's face before trying to turn around so he could head back down the path, tugging fruitlessly against Jingiy. In response, his troublesome owner just gave the lead a tug and tried taking a step towards the meeting place. After some moments of what seemed to be tug of war, the stubbon goat finally relented and started to head up the path after Jingyi.

The redhead glanced at Dullahan and patted his neck before flinching as she felt static run through her fingers. Moving her hand, Jingyi instead put her hand on the clasp connecting the lead and the harness, her fingers rubbing the metal.

She felt another minor shock of static electricity from the goat before she pulled her hand away. Dullahan just gave her a snort as he continued climbing up the path.

With a shake of her head, Jingyi turned her attention ahead of herself. She was sure that she was a little behind time, but surely Endolf wouldn't leave early, Jingyi told herself.

And sure enough, Jingyi spotted a figure in the close distance. She gave Dullahan a tug before speeding up her pace, but the goat only slowed down further. With a sigh, Jingyi slowed her pace so she could walk side by side with her beast.

Soon Endolf and a wolf came into view, prompting Jingyi to pause. Glancing at Dullahan, the Ferrum Carpa tensed up as it spotted the wolf, static lightning crackling form his many horns as he regarded the wolf.

"Hey, Endolf!" Jingyi called out to the man as she unclasped Dullahan from his lead, prompting the goat to stomp his hooves and step away, furthering the distance between him and Rajin. Jingyi pat Dullahan's back reassuringly, earning her another shock that was, granted, weaker than the other ones he had been giving her.

"Meet my partner, Dullahan. He's feeling a little grumpy today, but he's just as excited to train today." At her words, Dullahan just bleated once before snorting, his ears perking so he could better hear any noise the nearby wolf might make.

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Details:

Endolf first noticed something was up when Raijin lifted his head slightly, his nose twitching as if he were sniffing at the air. It passed in a matter of seconds however and thus Endolf found no real reason to look into it any further, especially once his name was called out. Pushing himself away from the rock he had been resting against he got to his feet and rose to his full heights as Jingyi approached him while holding a cord that lead down to a large goat’s neck. The girl would allow the goat freedom from its rope leash only for the goat to move back several steps after stomping its hooves. From what the Fanalis could tell the goat was spooked, almost cautious in fact, of Raijin.

The smaller girl would introduce him as Dullahan and tried to make light of the situation by claiming that despite the goat being “grumpy” today he was still as excited to learn as she was. Pushing his lips together Endolf would release a low whistle which prompted Raijin to uncurl himself and get to his paws with a wide yawn and much stretching. Smacking his muzzle a couple of times he would walk forward until he was at his partner’s side. The wolf would take a single glance at Dullahan before puffing out through his nostrils and turning his attention away. Almost as if to send the other beast the message that it wasn’t worth his attention.

“I doubt he’s grumpy or excited from the look of it. But either way, this is Raijin. My partner.” The redhead would motion his hand almost ceremonially to the wolf beside him who seemed to lift his head like a member of nobility would, basking in the attention. “We get it, you think you’re pretty high and mighty. Tone it down would ya? You aren't that high and mighty yet.” Would be Endolf’s annoyed response to his flamboyant partner. He would look back to Jingyi once more. “What did you need help with as far as Dullahan’s concerned?”
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WC: 345
TWC: 552/1000

Dullahan's attention seemed to snap to Endolf at the whistle, his ears swiveling at the noise before he promptly looked back at the wolf. His previous tension of a wolf being so close melted away as it was revealed that Rajin could care less, though it still struck a core with the beast. His hoof was stomped before raising his head, doing his best to command some sort of respect.

Jingyi couldn't help but smile at the wolf's reaction to being introduced, her attention flickering from the silver danger to his red-headed partner, "You two seem to be a good fit for each other," she commented while glancing at her own partner.

Her arms raised to cross themselves over her chest, but the girl paused before lowering them back over. Out of habit, her fingers groped for Grasscutter's hilt so she could rest her palm on it, but upon remembering that she had left the weapon behind Jingyi stuffed her hand in her pocket instead. The smile she was directing at Endolf seemed to turn embarrassed for a fraction of a second before her normal confident smile returned.

"Well, I guess you could say that we're having a bit of a problem of trying to work together?" Jingyi answered him at last, her free hand rubbing the back of her neck before she continued, "Dullahan doesn't really like listening to me, and I'm just having problems trying to get along, ya know? He's a little stubborn, though I can't complain seeing I can be that way too," she added with a slight chuckle as her hand was lowered back down. With a little sigh, Jingyi's head cocked to the side as she thought for a moment, her gaze lowered as she did so.

"I was kinda hoping you can help because I'm kinda new to this," she finished, her head raising so she could look at Endolf's face. Jingyi didn't feel like she had to tell him that she wasn't going to give up on the goat, nor that there wasn't any other help she could get from immediately.

Dullahan, meanwhile just turned his head away as she talked, one of his hooves digging into the ground. He didn't pay much attention to the girl, though at the mention of his name, his ear did perk. But it just lowered right down before the goat took a couple of steps away from his tamer in the direction that they had come to meet Endolf and Rajin. When Jingyi stopped talking, Dullahan did pause and glance at the group, though he made no effort to walk back to his supposed tamer's side.

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WC:

Endolf’s attention was pulled back towards Dullahan as a sharp, powerful stomp of his hoof struck the ground. It seemed to Endolf that the goat had become jealous at his lack of attention towards him. Or perhaps it was anger towards Raijin for seeming uninterested in the new beast’s presence. The redhead would look the goat over once before turning his attention back to the young girl who seemed to enjoy his own relationship with his partner. She claimed that the two got along well before asking for help with her relationship with her own animal partner. Of course this hadn’t happened without Jingyi attempting to look cool by resting her hand on the hilt of a sword she wasn’t actually wearing. Silently the Fanalis would snicker to himself at the motion.

Endolf attempted to come up with some way to help but found himself falling short with each attempted idea he came up with. “Not really sure how well I can help with that honestly. I don’t really do anything specific when it comes to dealing with Raijin.” In response to this comment the wolf beside him would tilt his head up as if basking in some form of unspoken praise at his partner’s comment, almost trying to pass it off as it was his allowing of their partnership to become as well as it was now. “Despite how this guy acts, I just kinda trust him to not do something stupid and give him a lot of leeway until proven wrong.” As if to emphasis his point Endolf would jab his thumb in the direction of the wolf that now seemed to glare at him with annoyance.

Ignoring his own beast for the moment he would approach Dullahan, first offering the goat his hand so that it could get his scent and as a sign of trust-worthiness.
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WC: 309
TWC: 861/1000

Endolf broke a small, thin smile as the goat accepted his gesture and began sniffing at his hand. Remembering when he first met Raijin in Ronove he recalled doing something similar to that as well. Giving the beast a light pet of the head he would remove his hand and take two steps back, allowing Dullahan’s partner to step in and attempt the same motion. It didn’t seem to work as well for her as the goat already knew her scent but the gesture itself seemed enough for it to warrant her touching his head as well. About a moment passed before Dullahan snorted, causing Jingyi to remove her hand in response. To Endolf it seemed like she was already beginning to understand about forging a connection with her beast.

Jingyi would suggest that they do some kind of activity with Dullahan, asking Endolf more than coming to the conclusion herself while under the claims that he was the one between the two of them with more experience in the matter. Endolf would nod quietly. “First thing I suggest is take that horrible excuse for a leash off the guy.” He chuckled slightly as he glanced back at the simple rope that was still tied around the goat’s neck. “I can’t imagine that being overly comfortable for him. Second I suggest letting him “strut his stuff”, that way you can get a grasp of his abilities.”

The boy had never really taken these kind of things into his own consideration when he had first acquired Raijin as a partner, yet now that he was giving such suggestions to Jingyi for her own benefit he could hear how it could be helpful for his own partnership.

WC: 285/1,146
TWC: 1,146/1,000 [Tamer Spec up]
Beast WC: 146/1,000

Endolf watched as Jingyi followed his suggestions, the young girl moving to remove the makeshift leash from the goat’s throat and store it away. He took full notice of how the beast first reacted to her attempt to reach for the rope, stomping and attempting to back away, before calming down and starting to roam around with his newfound freedom for some time. As Dullahan was taking his own chance to roam Jingyi would thank Endolf for his assistance in the foundation of her new companionship with the goat. Several seconds passed in silence, once Endolf nodded in response to Jingyi’s thanks, as the girl approached Dullahan.

The redhead found himself snickering at the two as Jingyi would begin to pet Dullahan’s back, taking his attention away from the rather large rock as she did so. The beast’s ears would prick up yet he would stay still and allow her to continue her contact with him. As he watched the two he would find himself turning his attention to his own beast, to Raijin, who sat off behind him. ‘Have I been too lax with my relationship with Raijin?’ He wondered to himself as he watched the wolf begin to clean his face with his paw. In truth he did understand that there really wasn’t any kind of solid bonds between the two of them either and their entire relationship was basically built on Endolf allowing the wolf to do as he pleased and feeding the beast while in exchange the wolf would follow his directions should the moment require it.

Before his train of thought could travel any deeper into his mind Jingyi managed to pull at Endolf’s attention. She questioned him on if there was anything else she and Dullahan could do together to try and strengthen their relationship, running through a short yet quick list of things such as physical activities or mock combat or things of those natures. Attempting to recover from his momentary case of wandering mind the Fanalis would respond to the girl. “Actually, I think a practice fight would be good for all of us.” This combined with the look he gave to Raijin caught the wolf’s attention. “You two should see where your strengths and weaknesses are as far as your teamwork goes. Raijin and I have a few things we’ve been wanting to try out ourselves as well.”

The wolf would approach Endolf, taking a seat beside him almost as if sitting at attention. ‘And I guess I can see just how far my bond with Raijin goes as well.’

WC: 429
TWC: 575/800 [Beast training]

Endolf would begin to move his body in various ways, each one producing a “pop” sound starting with his neck. All it took was his muscles alone to crack his neck and produce the sound. The same would go for his shoulders as he flexed them rather quickly. The noises would continue down his back as various muscles along his spine cracked. He knew he personally wasn’t taking part in this mock combat test between the two pairs aside from issuing Raijin directions, but he had grown fairly stiff from his less than active lessons thus far. With a pat on the head of Dullahan, Jingyi would walk away as if to give them more room for their combat.

Endolf eyed Dullahan, his gaze lingering on the goat’s horns. He was fairly certain that they’d do some pretty ugly damage to Raijin should the wolf take them in a direct impact. Of course, that would only matter of Raijin were to get hit by them. The lightning wolf was as nimble and quick as his namesake, leaving Endolf little reason to expect him to actually be in harm’s way in this “lesson”. Silently the Fanalis would fold his arms across his chest, leaving his hands out of Jingyi’s line of sight. With a nudge of his head he would instruct his partner to go forth, an instruction that Raijin would immediately carry out. Like a bolt of lightning the wolf would dash forward, aiming to take his power and superiority right to Dullahan.

He would then break to a sharp left, aiming to go for the goat’s sides and out of range of his horns. Growing closer to his target the wolf would lift his paw, aiming to bring it down onto Dullahan. Yet he would refrain from putting priority on his claws, instead choosing to simply bat at the goat with the soft pads of his paw. Almost as if saying that even if it wasn’t just a simple exorcise Dullahan wouldn’t be worth bloodying his claws over.
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WC: 339
TWC: 914/800 [Beast training complete]