103rd of Ashan, 717
Andras had learned one thing this morning: When training animals – a great motivator was food. With a small bag of meat strips, he repeated a word in Draketh, "Come", lifting it up for his over sized bird to see, and patting himself on the shoulder. Pride's size had nearly tripled since the last time he saw him and had been more than shocked to find his baby crow the size of small dragon. When he wanted to perch, he was capable of putting a talon on each on of Andráska's shoulder's, and he couldn't put off training any longer. Pride was getting to a dangerous size, and to neglect it could be detrimental. In fact, now Andráska wasn't even exactly sure what Pride was, let alone what he would be capable of doing. Sure, the bird was affectionate towards him, but that beak was growing by the day and his talons were intimidating in size. The servants had begun to shy away, looking to the skies for a flash of a shadow, but Pride was remarkably well at hiding apparently – and at night – he was death from above.Andras had to profusely apologize to one of the serving girls when her dog had nearly been carried off, and so now, in an open field, he watched his own pet, and how Pride's head turned to watch the meat in his hands. “Come” Andráska repeated, deepening his voice and beckoning again. He could see the intelligence behind his bird's eyes, and with a great extension of it's wings, he pushed off from the branch he was sitting on and swooped downward, talons sinking into the rich leather of his armor, and he settled upon Andras and gave a soft trill, and immediately Andras gave him the meat, followed with praise. It was hard to see what he was doing, but he reached upwards and felt the animal, scratching him beneath the neck and a sound of delight rumbled from the avian.
Andráska had reviewed a book on Draketh before beginning the session, mostly basic animals and easy adjectives. He focused on the ones that would be useful today. “Good. Bird.” he said, focusing on his pronunciation and how his tongue fumbled with the sounds.
But why Draketh?
Draketh, the language of dragons, was also very much used in the military. It had been used in the Iron Hand, and was being used in the Ouroboros Guards even more. He couldn't continue to put off his study of the language, and it was mentally exhausting. Not to mention how difficult it was. Very few people spoke it, and the less people that could manipulate such a powerful animal, the better.
Andras pulled out another strip of meat and wiggled it at his thigh, towards the ground. “Down,” he commanded. Once... Twice... Trice. He sighed, getting frustrated, but kept his composure, “Down, Pride.”
He tried to shrug the animal off, and a great beating of wings flapped around him as Pride squawked in annoyance, until he noticed the meat. “Down.” Andras commanded, and sure enough the bird got the message. Shuffling for a moment, he leapt from the noble's shoulders and to the soft grass, his head coming up to where Andras held the treat.
Again, he applauded him, making sure the avian took the reward gently, “Good. Bird.” He made sure to praise Pride also with a good number of scratches and did something he had done a few times when he was much smaller. He grinned and playfully shook Pride's beak, and laughed when the animal made a squawk of annoyance, opening his wings and hoped around. He laughed, apologized, and gave him another piece of meat for his troubles.
Pride seemed to forgive him well enough, Andras sighed, squatting to look at the bird's face more closely. The animal was really gorgeous up close, but he was always so hard to see. At the moment, sunlight was catching his ebony feathers, seeming to do nothing but absorb the light. There was almost no sheen to his coat, and it was perplexing to look at. He looked like... a shadow, almost, stealing the sun instead of giving it back. It made him appear darker, “If you get big enough... are you going to let me ride you one day?”
Andras ran his hand upon Pride's head and down his back and gave a gentle pressure upon his back in hopes to one day give the bird comfortable with the sensation. Even if Pride stopped growing before a grown man could ride him... he would make an excellent means of transporting certain goods. He reminded himself to look into having a little pack made for Pride, and closely examined the curvature of his wings and their span, followed by the size of his talons.
After Pride finished his meat and was already nudging Andras' hand for another, the noble stood up and began to step backwards, readying his next command, as his fingers drifted into the pack at his side and he carefully held a strip of beef. Pride was watching him closely, head turning so his silver lined eye could peer up without interruption.
Andraska pulled his arm back, and threw the meat into air, simultaneously giving the command in Draketh, “Fly!”
Pride took to the skies.
For the writer
Some attempted knowledge to keep me on track:
Animal Training: Best if Started at a Young Age
Animal Training: Use food as a motivator
Animal Training: You Must Have Patience
Animal Training: Repetition is Key
Draketh: Basic Commands
Animal Training: Best if Started at a Young Age
Animal Training: Use food as a motivator
Animal Training: You Must Have Patience
Animal Training: Repetition is Key
Draketh: Basic Commands