by Mordrion on July 11th, 2015, 10:30 am
At the sound of his voice, the little Gibbat dog perked its ears and looked towards Mordrion. He moved his hand slowly, waving the creature closer. "Come here, little one." Behind the mask, Mordrion smiled. Curious but also wary, the little dog stepped from behind the thorny bush but remained close to it, ready to jump back if needed. Mordrion waited, smiling, humming and talking to the creature. He made sure to keep his voice low but loud enough for the dog to hear him. "Aren't you cute." "Look at all that red, what a proud one you are."
Being naturally used to the presence of humans and possibly the sound of Mordrion's voice brought the creature out forward a little. It smelled the air and looked towards the first piece of dried meat and to Mordrion. "Yes, it's for you." The dog took a step forward and Mordrion stopped moving, waiting. The little Gibbat jumped forward, crossing the one step distance to the meat, bit down on it and jumped back into the thorns, disappearing. "So hungry." Mordrion called towards the bushes.
For a while there was no movement or motion from the thorns. Mordrion took that time to scout his surroundings making sure no other people were heading towards him or even near. Or that none of those experiments were about to kill him. The prairie remained calm around him. The sound of rustling leaves drew his attention forward again. A pair of large ears and four eyes were regarding him curiously. "Hello there, little one." Mordrion smiled at the little Gibbat. He had no idea if it was the same one as before or a different one wanting some of that delicious meat.
Turning to his side slowly, Mordrion opened his pack and pulled out the dried meat wrapped up to keep it from staining the other belongings in his backpack. He cut off a small piece of meat and molded it in his hand, squeezing it and making sure that he got his scent on it. With a careful toss, he launched the meat more or less towards where the second piece was lying. The furry dog jumped back and away but quickly returned when it noticed nothing else happened after the suddenly something fell so close to him.
The Gibbat came out of the thorns and looked around, curious but cautious. Smart. Mordrion waited, still as he could be. The Gibbat started to move slowly onto the plain, out of the bush, like it had done before but this time more than just the one step. The meat was further out now and Mordrion watched as the furry creature moved out into the open, its ears perked up and moving from side to side as it picked up the sounds only it could hear with that kind of hearing.
Its sniffed the meat for a bit before taking it in its jaws, chewing it as it looked at Mordrion. Mordrion looked back and smiled. "You like that? It's delicious." Mordrion moved his hand, waving at the creature. It didn't run away this time, more curious than cautious now. Mordrion slowly started to cut another small piece of meat from his supply as he waited for the Gibbat to finish his portion. When he was done, Mordrion molded the next piece of meat as he had done before.
When he was finished, Mordrion tossed the piece forward, aiming it in between the second piece, which had been finished, and the last remaining piece one step away from him. The Gibbat jumped back but didn't run and hide like before. It just sniffed the air and snuck closer. It's attention was fully on the large human sitting in front of him as it approached the meat. "That's nice. Don't be scared. "
Not knowing what else he could say besides repeating 'good' and 'nice' over and over again, he started to hum a tune, something that vaguely felt like home, a long time ago. He cut another small piece of meat and molded it before tossing it, two steps away from him, one step from the last, larger, piece. The Gibbat moved closer and picked up the meat, pulling parts off of it with its teeth as it kept the rest under wraps with its claws. Mordrion simply sat and watched, cutting the last piece he would hopefully need today.
This time, he didn't toss it but held it out in his open hand. He leaned forward, placing his hand on the ground as far forward as he could, the palm upwards with the meat in it. Hopefully it doesn't bite. "Here you go. It's delicious." The Gibbat regarded him as if he understood completely. But it was still wary, staying back and looking, observing him from all angles as it moved left and right but didn't come any closer yet.
"No need to be so cautious. It's delicious meat. Yum yum." Mordrion leaned forward a bit more, feeling his back stretch and cracking. We're not that old yet, friend. Mordrion smiled behind his mask and waited, holding his hand still and trying to breathe as slowly as possible. He kept his eyes on the creature but did his best to avoid direct eye contact. That was generally a challenge in the animal world. Since the Gibbat was part dog, Mordrion assumed it felt the same way as its ancestor.
Mordrion had no idea how much time had passed already while he had been negotiating with this little one but he was getting very close now. The Gibbat stepped forward and sniffed the air before taking another slow step forward. Mordrion watched as the Gibbat pressed its nose against his fingertips, the cool touch of its nose felt very dog like. Mordrion smiled but held still. If he got impatient now it would ruin a whole morning of work. Another wet nose touch to his fingertips and then it moved closer and tried to take the piece of meat from Mordrion's hand, missing it.
The Gibbat jumped back and Mordrion startled, pulling his hand back slightly, causing the creature to jump back even more. Mordrion quickly controlled himself and waited, smiling. His cheeks were starting to hurt from all the smiling. "It's ok. Don't worry. It's just my hand, don't worry." Mordrion kept talking, quietly, saying the same things over and over again. Don't worry. Nice. Good. Little One. And various mixes of those. Slowly but surely the Gibbat got closer again, drawn in by its curiosity and the meat still in Mordrion's hand.
As it moved closer, Mordrion slowly sat up straight again, stretching his back. He took the meat between his fingers, holding it out as he put his other hand out as well, waiting with open palms. The Gibbat sniffed and looked and considered. And then it stepped forward a bit more, sniffing more and looking left and right, its ears perking up and pointing. And then it moved in, trying to bite the piece of meat. Mordrion made sure he held on. At first there was a bit of tugging but once the creature decided it could simply eat the meat as it was, it calmed down.
Mordrion slowly moved his free hand closer and touched the tips of the creatures fur. It moved its head to face the new sensation and growled at Mordrion's free hand. "Don't worry. It's ok. It's just my hand. See." Mordrion brought one finger forward and held it in front of the creature. It sniffed the air and pressed its nose against his fingertips. Mordrion pressed back and moved a second finger in, stroking the fur on its nose. Satisfied the new sensation wasn't bad, the Gibbat focused back on the meat and Mordrion touched the side of its face lightly stroking its fur.
He pushed a bit further and pressed his full hand against the creatures side, stroking its fur softly. The meat was finished and Mordrion held his other hand out for the creature to sniff and lick the remaining meat taste off. With his stroking hand, Mordrion started to tickle the Gibbat behind its ear, hoping for the same reaction as a dog would. The creature pressed its head against Mordrion's hand. Going from one hand to the other, the Gibbat enjoyed the attention it was getting now that it had enjoyed its meal fully. There was some satisfied nose licking and a bit of ear scratching with its hind paw as Mordrion continued to lightly stroke it where he could.
Once he felt like the creature had gotten used enough to Mordrion's touch, he moved both hands in at the same, stroking its back and head. "Well, time to go, little one." Mordrion said. With a quick motion he moved his hands, the one on the Gibbat's back grabbing hold of the creature and holding it in place while his other hand moved to grab hold of the creatures head. With a quick and decisive move, he turned the head around. There was a sickly cracking sound as its neck broke and Mordrion felt the creature go limp in his grasp. "On to the interesting part." Mordrion packed up his belongings putting everything back where it belonged, with his bounty dangling from one of the many strings hanging from the outside of his backpack, and started on his trek back to the citadel.