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Post by Marto Copperkettle on Aug 25, 2023 10:26:24 GMT
Bonding
Fionn would not sit still. It was frustrating, and Marto was doing his best to keep his cool but there was something that wasn’t quite clicking just yet. Which was more where his frustration lay than with the dog himself.
Still.
“I think he’s upset that I didn’t take him to Enlance with us.”
Jacinta looks at him.
“He’s not trained. I didn’t want to risk something happening to him, which might have done, cause Gwen poofed out of existence once we got there.”
The Scout Master nods approval at the decision.
“I know he wants to come with me but I worry…”
“Perhaps starting smaller. Simpler ‘adventures’. Maybe try treating him like a squire.”
Marto gives Jacinta a look. She shrugs.
“You said he wants to carry your banner. Maybe give him something to wear.”
Another very good, large boy comes to mind. Frankie, the one that brought them back home from the Beastlands. He is Ser Baine Cinderwood’s dog turned mount. He wears a red scarf, which is the colour of the Order of the Crimson Fist. One could say, Frankie carries Baine’s banner…
Marto grins. “I’ve got just the thing.”
Standing: Loved
2 of 3 Bonding Checks Complete
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Post by Marto Copperkettle on Sept 2, 2023 17:10:51 GMT
Bonding
When Marto had carved a laurel of symbols on Fionn’s head back in Miss Bean’s Sanctuary, it was entirely with motifs associated with Yondalla — the bountiful fruit and root from the cornucopia made a ring of apples, corn, grapes, pumpkins, turnips, wheat, and vines around the oaken golden retriever’s head. The goddess was important to Marto. He has had two meetings with the Nurturing Matriarch when he was at his lowest. The last time he had been a golden retriever, and Yondalla had spoken about not seeing the forest for the trees… Since then, Marto’s life had taken on clearer perspective, though he was still working on it. He had wanted to share that connection with Fionn.
But there were still plenty of questions on this path to becoming a knight. Like what sort of knight would he be? How could Fionn become part of that journey?
The answer was simple, one Fionn had even said himself: He wanted to carry Marto’s banner.
Marto’s banner. Not Yondalla’s. His.
“It took some time, Fionn, and this will probably get dirty as we train but it’s a start.”
Fionn quests forward with his nose towards the green and blue cloth in Marto’s hands.
“I will look at getting you a nicer one once we’ve graduated to coming on adventures. For now this will be your squire-in-training scarf. Sounds good?”
Fionn sniffs at the simple linen, two coloured squares stitched together with yellow thread. He gives a little woof and opens his mouth into a doggie smile.
“I’m glad you like it. Here, let me put it on ya…”
Standing: Loved
3 of 3 Bonding Checks Complete
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Post by Marto Copperkettle on Sept 16, 2023 16:16:45 GMT
Training: Stop / Move
Fionn was not the kind of pup that liked to stay still.
When Marto gave the gift of stamina to allow for bursts of energy he had not foreseen that it would manifest in seemingly never ending zoomies. It was quite remarkable. He was pretty sure that if Fionn didn’t have his mechanical heart made by Pipper, he would have run himself into exhaustion within the first week.
Understanding when to run and when not to run was the first step in his training as Marto’s squire. It wasn’t easy, and the young knight worried that it would take longer than a week to fully get the concept to stick. But with Jacinta watching over them, and giving some pointers every now and then, Marto managed to teach Fionn to stop.
Never mind that the moment Marto said anything remotely close to the word “go” Fionn was already taking off at a breakneck pace. The important thing was that he listened to the halfling. They’ll get better at the commands as they went…
Standing: Loved
3 of 3 Bonding Checks Complete
Training: Stop / Move
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Post by Marto Copperkettle on Sept 22, 2023 13:06:55 GMT
Training: Sit / Lie Down
“Okay. Fionn, sit.”
The golden retriever plunks his hind quarters down. Marto blinks, surprised. Then he gris.
“Good boy! Very good boy.” He gives Fionn a small cube of delicious red apple. There are a few extra licks, a sign of affection but also wanting more.
“If you want more you will have to do another trick. Do you think you can?”
“Bork!”
“Haha, well lets see.” Marto stands up from the head scritches he was giving and says, “Fionn, lie down.”
The golden retriever immediately puts his belly to the ground, even crossing his front paws in a very prestigious way.
Marto is stunned.
“Well that went a lot quicker than the last one!” Fionn’s tail starts wagging. “Here, for the best boy in all the Borrow-” His hand comes out of a pouch with a mix of cubed apples, carrots, and sweet potato. “-you’ve earned it.”
Standing: Loved
3 of 3 Bonding Checks Complete
Training: Stop / Move, Sit / Lie Down
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Post by Marto Copperkettle on Oct 1, 2023 19:35:18 GMT
Training: Make Noise
It was clear from the beginning that Fionn was a clever boy. The bond he and Marto shared was different than the one he had with Gwenael, but it was no less special. A month into his squire training, Fionn could already listen to commands just as well as any new pup.
But there was still a long way to go.
Marto was spending most of his days with Fog, or helping them with that harrowing poem. It worried the young knight, but keeping busy helped kept his mind focused. There were the cooking lessons Marto was also taking, not to mention the impending harvest. The whole village was busy.
And Fionn wanted to play his part.
“Okay boy. You ready to learn a new task?”
“Bark!”
“Good. Now, it’s funny you say that because this one is about learning when to speak.”
“Grr-ark.”
“I know you do. But can you only speak when I give you this sign?” Marto does a hand gesture.
Fionn tilts his head a little lost.
“Hmm, maybe that’s too complicated…” He thinks for a moment. “How about when I say… speak.”
“Brrph.”
“Yes, good boy!” Marto gives him a piece of carrot. “Let’s try again.” He grabs a cube of carrot and holds his hand up in a fist. Fionn instantly sits down. “Good, you remember what to do there. But we aren’t learning to sit, we are learning to make noise.”
Fionn doesn’t make a sound.
“Can you speak Fionn?”
“Bork!”
Marto smiles and gives him the treat. “Good boy…”
Standing: Loved
3 of 3 Bonding Checks Complete
Training: Stop / Move, Sit / Lie Down, 1 of 2 Make Noise
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Post by Marto Copperkettle on Oct 6, 2023 9:07:52 GMT
Training: Make Noise
“Fionn, speak.”
“Bork!”
“Good boy,” Marto says, delighted. The smile on his face is reflected in the happy oaken pup standing across from him, their bond only getting better.
“You don’t spend half as much time with me these days,” Gwenael pouts in red robin form. Her feathers puff up a little. “And what of Fog, hmm? Are you ignoring them too?”
“I’m not ignoring you, nor am I Fog. They’re coming over later, as a matter of fact,” he says, though his brow does furrow. “Though you do have a point. You’re as much part of this team as Fionn.”
“I am.” Gwen puffs up with all the dignity a fey familiar can — which is a lot.
“Then perhaps you can train with us Gwen. What do you say, Fionn?”
“Rruff!” His tail starts wagging.
“That sounds like a yes to me.” Marto says in halfling. To Gwen in sylvan he asks, “How about it? Will you train with us Gwen?”
A trill of sing-song notes comes from her little beak, which Fionn answers with purpose and intent. Marto’s jaw drops in surprise.
“Have you two been training behind my back?”
“Perhaps, maybe, just a little…” The little robin blushes. The golden retriever comes up to Marto and leans against him, before giving the halfling a lick on the face.
“Well colour me delightfully surprised…”
Standing: Loved
3 of 3 Bonding Checks Complete
Training: Stop / Move, Sit / Lie Down, Make Noise
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Post by Marto Copperkettle on Oct 21, 2023 10:34:16 GMT
Training: Wait
His first attempt at training Fionn to wait was (unsurprisingly) unsuccessful. There’s a certain energy Fionn has that always needs to keep moving and Marto really only has himself to blame – he did enrich that part of him when Miss Beans had said he had to give something to make what was to become Fionn’s body more real.
He just didn’t anticipate how much that burst of speed would be such a hurdle for them both.
“It’s about getting him to listen to you,” Jacinta told him. “He has shown he can listen. It’s you who needs to have the confidence to speak in such a way where he will.”
The second attempt went much better. Marto changed the way he approached the training. Getting Fionn to sit or lay down, then walk away – first three steps, then four, then five – before whistling for him to come. Each time he got it right it was another stick of carrot or cube of sweet potato, Fionn’s favourite. Gwen even helped by doing the training with the oaken retriever. That probably helped the most. It’s always easier to be doing something with another person, rather than on your own…
Standing: Loved
3 of 3 Bonding Checks Complete
Training: Stop / Move, Sit / Lie Down, Make Noise, 1 of 2 Wait
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Post by Marto Copperkettle on Nov 17, 2023 11:00:02 GMT
Training: Wait
The third attempt failed just as spectacularly as the first.
Marto wasn’t frustrated. No, if anything, he was amused. Fionn wasn’t understanding why they weren’t going on adventures already and despite speaking to him as he would Gwen, those big oaken brown eyes looked at him with the simple question: But why?
“Because I need to rely on you. And that means knowing you’ll listen when I tell you to wait.”
Again, that look.
“We’ll stop for today. Perhaps a break is needed. We’ve been doing a lot of training and it can be quite overwhelming. Right?”
“Bork!”
He laughed.
The next few days were spent relaxing. Autumn was settling in for good and there was plenty of rain that made it miserable when they went outside. Fionn didn’t mind as much — the pup could find enjoyment in nearly any situation — but Gwenael was particularly miserable.
“It means I can’t fly and I love flying,” she whined. Marto had helped her change into a red squirrel, which had confused the heck out of Fionn. He kept trying to play with her and would bark non-stop if she climbed up the beams of the Hearth & Road to get away for some peace. Thankfully, if Marto was around when this happened, he could tell Fionn to be quiet.
Then he had an idea.
The next day, the clouds broke to reveal a light blue sky and a sun angled and far away. But it was warm where its light touched.
“Gwen, please go over there.” Marto points. “Fionn, come here and sit. Good boy.” He gives him a quick scritch. “Now, you’ve nearly got this Fionn. You just need a little more practice. Gwen, when I say, start running around Fionn playfully. I’ll give him the signal to move and you two can work on your ‘cat and mouse’ routine.”
“I won’t become his chew toy Marto!” she says indignatnly.
“You won’t. Because when I say you’re going to dash away and I’m going to tell Fionn to wait.”
“But what if he doesn’t?”
Marto looks at Fionn. The golden retriever pants and smiles at him.
“He will.”
And he did.
Standing: Loved
3 of 3 Bonding Checks Complete
Training: Stop / Move, Sit / Lie Down, Make Noise, 2 of 2 Wait
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Post by Marto Copperkettle on Nov 23, 2023 9:37:34 GMT
Training: Recognise Places or People
It was time to get back to training the best boy, Fionn.
Marto had spent the past couple weeks helping around the village. Everywhere he went he Fionn with him. The purpose? To get the pup familiar with the size of New Hillborrow and its people. Of course, at the end of the day, Marto, Gwen, and Fionn always returned to his room at the Hearth & Road, but could Fionn find the place on his own?
“Alright Fionn. You’ve been around the village a lot this week. Do you know where we are now?”
Fionn looks around, sniffing the air, getting his bearings. They were on the south east side of the village, close to the farm before the Flower Fields. He looks back to Marto and tilts his head.
“Think you can lead the way back to the Hearth & Road?”
The golden retriever’s ears perk up a little.
“The Hearth & Road,” Marto repeats.
With a short, gruff ruff, Fionn turns around, nose still questing up every now and then. When they get back to Bakery he stops, sniffing again, licking his chops and then turning north. After a few paces he begins to trot, and then bound forward. Marto keeps up with an easy jog, wanting to know if Fionn stops at the right spot or if he continues on over the bridge. Much to his delight, Fionn stops in front of the tavern’s door looking up at it expectantly then back to Marto.
“Good boy. Very good boy. Well done Fionn.”
Standing: Loved
3 of 3 Bonding Checks Complete
Training: Stop / Move, Sit / Lie Down, Make Noise, Wait,
Recognise Places: Hearth & Road
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Post by Marto Copperkettle on Dec 2, 2023 0:53:12 GMT
Training: Recognise Places or People Winter. The season of slowing down and reflection. A perfect time to reach out and connect with those around you. That was Marto’s intention with his little stay-cation idea. There was a particular grouping of trees he had been eyeing for a few months now. He hasn’t made any move to ask the Council Elders if that area would be viable land for building a home in part because he didn’t have the gold. Currently though, the Elders already had their hands full with the eladrin mage wanting to set up a labyrinth north-west of the village. “I heard through the village that there was talk of a basilisk as a guard dog,” Marto told Fog as he set up their campsite in the aforementioned copse of trees. Fog’s eye brows raise. “Yeah, that didn’t go over well, as you can imagine.” It wasn’t that taxing to train a proper guard dog. Look at him and Fionn. Together, they have already gone through many of the basics. Their training was getting a bit more advanced now but it was rewarding for both for them. The main intent of this play was to give Fog and Fionn a chance to get to know each other in the one place Marto hoped would one day be their home. Gwen knew this. Fog might have suspected something of that ilk. Fionn… Marto looked over to the golden retriever. Fionn was running through the trees, “practising” with Gwen. Marto smiled. Fionn was having the time of his life.
Standing: Loved
3 of 3 Bonding Checks Complete
Training: Stop / Move, Sit / Lie Down, Make Noise, Wait
Recognise Places: Hearth & Road
Recognise People: Fogwalker of the Walking Stone
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Post by Marto Copperkettle on Dec 12, 2023 13:32:47 GMT
Training: Recognise Places or People
It continues to grow colder. The jobs Marto does for the village get shorter and smaller, but he’s okay with that. As he knows, Winter isn’t the time to start a new project. It is time to make connections. Most of the farmers are focused on tending their livestock. Only one place, ever colourful due in part to the owner’s particular brand of green thumb, is as colourful as always.
The flower fields are Fog’s sister’s pride and joy. Everyone loves to come and visit, especially in the duller, colder months. Marto has been visiting often, not just for the colourful flora but because even winter flowers need tending and though BB does most of the work, he enjoys helping where he can. Fionn is always with him. Together with Blue and Gwen, and sometimes even Jacinta’s dog, Aster, he “trains” (plays) with them.
On one particular afternoon there was a discussion of building a second greenhouse. Nothing for certain, mind, but BB says she could always do with more space for more flowers. Marto looks around the landscape, picking out a few places where one could stand and nods.
“Come on, Fionn,” he calls to his squire in training. “Let’s go to the Hearth and Road. Lead the way!”
That night he drafts up a few designs. Nothing too extravagant, but something to give visual aid to the ideas he will bring to Fog’s sister.
The next day Marto, Fionn, and Gwen step out of the Hearth and Road, their breath puffing out in clouds of fog.
“A little chillier today. Good thing we will be inside then when we visit BBBBBBB.”
Fionn looks at Marto, panting and smiling.
“Can you show us the way to BB’s, Fionn?”
With a jumping skip, he takes off towards the centre of the village, turning left just after the bakery. Marto laughs, running to catch up.
Standing: Loved
3 of 3 Bonding Checks Complete
Training: Stop / Move, Sit / Lie Down, Make Noise, Wait
Recognise Places: Hearth & Road, BBBBBBB
Recognise People: Fogwalker
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Post by Marto Copperkettle on Dec 24, 2023 15:19:46 GMT
Training: Carry/Deliver
Despite the albeit brief but concerning (to some) rumours of his demise, Marto insists on on picking up where he left things — helping around the village. Winter Solstice is fast approaching and there’s still so much to prepare! Marto (and Fionn) quickly find themselves being asked to bring food stuffs back and forth between the two places, at increasingly faster speeds.
“They’re really cooking up a storm for this year,” Marto says to Fionn.
Bark!
“Right? If only there could be a way for us to get this stuff from the farms a little quicker.”
Gwen comes out from behind Fionn’s legs just as the pup sits down. Marto tilts his head.
“Actually… there may be a way…”
Standing: Loved
3 of 3 Bonding Checks Complete
Training: Stop / Move, Sit / Lie Down, Make Noise, Wait, Carry/Deliver
Recognise Places: Hearth & Road, BBBBBBB
Recognise People: Fogwalker
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Post by Marto Copperkettle on Dec 30, 2023 17:40:02 GMT
Training: Push/Pull/Open
He tried to teach Fionn how to push things, pull things, even open them. But when the excitement of a whole village is put into a Winter Solstice celebrations, not even the best squire can pay attention enough to listen to his Knight Errant.
Which was probably a good thing. Sometimes it is important to take it easy. To relax. To ease the pressure of learning for a little while…
There is always a chance to try again later.
Standing: Loved
3 of 3 Bonding Checks Complete
Training: Stop / Move, Sit / Lie Down, Make Noise, Wait, Carry/Deliver
Recognise Places: Hearth & Road, BBBBBBB
Recognise People: Fogwalker
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Post by Marto Copperkettle on Jan 3, 2024 11:27:21 GMT
Training: Push/Pull/Open
As the year quietly turned from one into another, a young halfling knight and his squire (who just so happened to be a dog made of the finest of oak) took a stroll through the village. Most everyone is sleeping off the night before. The few folks the two see are the baker and Fog’s sister, BB, already doing work in her flower fields.
“Hmm,” Marto says, slowing his pace. Fionn matches him, looking up expectantly. He’s grown accustomed to hearing certain tones from his knight. This one normally proceeds some form of training. Fionn likes the training. It means more time with his favourite person in the whole wide world.
“What do you think, Fionn? Shall we help the Baker or our resident Florist today?” Marto smiles down at his companion. “We can work on your helping me help them some more.”
Gwen, seemingly appearing out of thin air, zooms up Marto’s leg, her red squirrel clawed paws barely leaving a mark on his leather trousers and soft cotton tunic. It was unseasonably warm today.
“Ooo, let’s help the baker! He’s always gives us sweet treats after we’ve helped him,” Gwen says.
“That’s true he does. But BB would be happy to have us help with any repairs. She may even give us a few flowers we could bring back for Fog.” Marto looks down at Fionn. “Well boy, what will it be?”
Fionn sits his romp down and looks between the bakery’s small round building, and the softly rolling fields of flowers. He looks at the bakery, then at the flower fields. Bakery. Flower fields. Back and forth. Back and forth. Then he stands and points himself in the direction of the bakery.
“Yes! Sweet fluffy pastries here we come!” Gwen says, jumping off Marto’s shoulder to zoom over towards the bakery. Fionn follows, close on her fluffy red tail.
Marto gives a chuckle, shaking his head, and follows.
Standing: Loved
3 of 3 Bonding Checks Complete
Training: Stop / Move, Sit / Lie Down, Make Noise, Wait, Carry/Deliver, Push/Pull/Open
Recognise Places: Hearth & Road, BBBBBBB
Recognise People: Fogwalker
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