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 Posted: Sat Nov 15, 2008 5:45 am
The colt flicked his tail, the end of that was also slightly damp as he'd splashed hard in the larger puddles. Of course his state would cause his mother to comment, and she'd make him wash in the river before rolling in dry grass but he didn't care. He was having fun, alll the puddles were his...
Thoughts of getting even muckier were pushed away as he spied a rabbit that was looking at him, wrinkling its nose at him as though he was a dirty creature!
'Yah! What you looking at?' he challenged, and ran headlong at it, making it scatter off, it's tail flashing white before it was lost in the undergrowth.
'Yeah thought so..' he said boldly, chest puffing a bit as if he'd scared away the legions of hell itself and not just a soft-eyed bunny.
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Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2008 11:45 am
He wasn't entirely certain of how he had landed himself with such a job. Children had never been his strong point, he struggled constantly to so much as relate to them on any level. However he had recently agreed to take care of one of his nephews. Granted he had been keeping an eye on his niece as she attempted to make use of her wings, but the thought of instructing one of the little midgets in the art of war was an entirely different matter. It was true that he had been through the same thing as a child but that was with his father and Cyn.
Unfortunately Cyn wasn't here and his father had since retired to pursue other things (mostly his mother). Thus Ambroise had been left with the role and as one of the heirs he had to accept it. For the next months, if not years, he would be instructing Kodah in the art of combat. Hopefully he would have a much more sufficient level of concentration than Ambroise's brothers did. Ambroise could only hope that Nivriti's level headed nature may have benefitted the child to an extent.
Alas, even as the rainbow stallion watched the colt scare an unsuspecting rabbit he did have to note the obvious fire within him. It would need to be reigned in and developed, but if used correctly that fire would lead to a steely determination. Or at least this was how it worked in theory - Ambroise was not one who considered scaring small animals to be brave or polite.
"Lesson one," he at last alerted the colt to his presence, his tone blunt and otherwise unimpressed. "As part of Islagiatt you will not frighten the animals that reside in this area, you will possess some level of good manners at the very least, Kodah."
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Posted: Thu Nov 20, 2008 9:04 am
Kodah was only slightly aware that a request had been made by his parents towards his Uncle in regards to proper training. Nivriti had spoken to her mother when it became apparent that one of her sons had a wild streak that needed to be tamed, and Aishwarya suggested to her daughter that rather than squash it completely that it could be channelled somewhere worthwhile. If not, he might become resentful or even rebel and go off the rails completely.
Nivriti couldn't even fathom having one of her very first children estranged from her, and so had resolved to get something sorted out as soon as possible. She had told him that his Uncle would seek him out soon, and the colts response had been to wander off.
'Huh? Oh, hello Uncle Ambroise.' Kodah managed to say with some politeness, his small expression one of slight annoyance at the interruption to his 'rabbit-baiting'. What was the harm?
'Lesson one?' he gave an quick but audible groan. His mother had been serious about that training stuff? He thought it was just a threat to make him stop teasing his sister.
Manners? Manners didn't make you a good fighter, his hooves did that. If the lessons were all filled with violence towards the evil-doers, then Ambroise would have his rapt attention. But manners were boooring.
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Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2008 5:39 am
Ambroise hated young children, the spirits knew he had done his fair share of childminding in the form of his recent brothers and sisters. However now he had a rather rebellious 'runt' of a nephew before him. He could see the fire in those eyes, but that inability to show any semblance of intelligence was disappointing. This wasn't to say he didn't have confidence in his brother and sister in law's abilities to raise their children but the non-plus response was hardly a good start to the proceedings.
Alas Ambroise was not an easy teacher, he was not gentle or considerate towards another's feelings and as such he gave a snort and eyed his nephew with absolute disgust. He could play these games and he could play them well, if Kodah disliked the concept of manners then Ambroise would treat him with none. It was a brutal lesson but there would be no expressions of gratitude, no simple requests - every last one of them would be direct orders and failure to adhere to them would result in a swift kick up the a** - literally.
In a rather sadistic way this worked out quite well for Ambroise!
His mother wouldn't approve, but it worked.
"Move," he ordered darkly as he strode towards the colt and flicked his tail abruptly against his rump. "Your first task of the day is to clean yourself, no ifs or buts - I want every spec of mud off you," he ordered and motioned towards the trickling stream nearby. It wasn't terribly deep, but it would be deep enough for the colt to paddle and wriggle about in without too much effort.
Of course what Ambroise hadn't told him was that he would be clean to begin with, then Ambroise would plaster him in mud and make him scrub again and again until he was spotless. Ambroise didn't mind the nights, he could make the colt stay in the water all day until he heard the magical words of 'please' and 'thank you' fall from the child's mouth!
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Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 7:33 am
It wasn't that Kodah was dumb, it was that he'd really not thought that his mother had been serious about the training thing. At least he in his brash, coltish manner hadn't taken her seriously.
'Owwww, what was that for?' he flinched at the swish of his Uncle's tail hair against his sensitive little bottom, and shook himself, flakes of drying mud falling from his body. He glared rebelliously up at Ambroise, unaware that his behaviour would only lead to more of the same.
He gave a glance at the stream, knowing it would cold as the weather was turning towards his first winter, before staring sullenly back at his Uncle.
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Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 12:28 pm
Ambroise would be forever known as a less than conventional father by the manner in which he trained his students, but it was unfortunate for Kodah that his mother had been genuine in her threat. No doubt it would come as a valuable lesson to the small colt who now gazed up at his Uncle in the most ridiculous manner. It took a little more self control than usual for Ambroise not to raise a brow at the sullen expression on the child's face - ah, life wires were difficult to train but always turned out to be good. Ambroise just needed patience and Kodah needed to learn (slowly but surely) that his uncle didn't joke.
Thus it was with another abrupt nudge against the colt's wing that his Uncle redirected him towards the water again. Ambroise was being genuine, his stoic expression should have said as much as he continued to gaze at the small colt expectantly. Life was hard, particularly in the mountains and if there was one thing that would make the colt's winter coat grow in so much faster...it would be a cold dip in an icy stream!
"To indicate the direction you need to walk in," Ambroise replied smoothly to the child's enquiry and shook his head, the strands of hair tumbling around his eyes to cascade down his neck at the very slight adjustment. "Do not make me wait, Kodah - we have much to do this afternoon."
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Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 1:11 pm
'I'm going, I'm going!' Kodah could sense that he wasn't getting out of this one, and moved slowly towards the slowly flowing water, dragging his hooves all the way.
'Couldn't you have shown me with your head? That would have stung less.' the colt replied. In truth the pain had already gone, and he wasn't really a whiny colt by nature, but he hadn't learned to be obedient yet.
'Do?' he asked, with a hoof hovering over the water. What were they going to do? He hoped it was going to be more fun than getting clean.
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Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2008 11:47 am
"Yes, do..." Ambroise was not about to elaborate on the details of the training to the youngster. To give him prior warning into the hell that awaited him would be too easy for him! Instead it was much easier to exact orders until the young colt stopped groaning and questioning his uncle - in the case of Ambroise it was always better to keep quiet and do exactly as one was told. Or at least...that was how one treated him until they were close to his height and had gained his respect - from that point on they were free to tease him as often as they saw fit. Killian and Althalus were examples of this, his younger twin brothers who found entertainment in teasing him for his albeit cool and aloof behaviour.
Hopefully in time Kodah would gain the ability to treat him in much the same way. A little teasing and good humour here and there, but before any of this could happen the colt needed to understand the way things worked. He needed to understand that one of his size couldn't terrorise smaller creatures and that there were duties and goals that would be far more suitable for him to strive towards. Perhaps in the future he would be a hero, a vigilante or a womaniser... Fate wasn't clear on that but if there was one thing Ambroise was sure of, the child would at least conform to SOME of the ideas that existed in Islagiatt.
...Mostly manners, if anything.
"Now do not keep me waiting, or I will extend this session by a further two hours," he warned darkly.
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Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2008 11:56 am
Obviously his Uncle wasn't about to elaborate on the type of training he was about to inflict on Kodah before he got clean. He gnawed on his lower lip, looking at the running water, and then splashed his hoof down.
An unwise move as it happened, chill water splashed up and hit his chest and the upper parts of his front legs, making him shiver and gasp at the shock.
He quickly splashed in after the initial shock had subsided, trying to get this uncomfortable part over with as swiftly as possible, kicking water up and giving his belly a quick dip into the river. Thinking he was done, he hopped out again, giving himself a dog-like shake.
'There, I'm all clean.'
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Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2008 7:04 am
Alright, so Ambroise had to excuse Kodah in terms of being able to gauge his own cleanliness. Generally speaking a mother's duty at this age was to nag until they were spotless and in months to come the foal would develop an understanding of what was socially acceptable. In Kodah's case he was reasonably clean and given that Ambroise intended to make him absolutely filthy again, the rather 'sadistic' uncle could accept this definition of 'clean' for the time being. Ambroise's greatest form of entertainment would begin when his nephew had to clean himself again before going home!
Nevertheless Ambroise afforded an albeit 'unimpressed' glance at his nephew before nodding curtly and drifting passed his tiny form. The location that he had selected for his nephew was one he should have been reasonably familiar with. The foals of Islagiatt enjoyed the area, a flat expanse on the middle of the mountain before it began to climb again. Covered in forest with a number of groves scattered within it was ideal for hiding, playing tag and making forts. Unfortunately for Kodah he would not be taking the opportunity to play with any of the other children he might see during his training though.
"We do not have all day, when we reach our training grounds you will begin immediately. We will begin with ten laps of the meadow - no more, no less and then we shall discuss your skills. You understand?"
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Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2008 2:24 am
Kodah sneezed, wiped his nose on front leg and nodded up at his Uncle.
'I understand..' he said, going to stand next to Ambroise for when they moved off.
'Only..what's a lap?
If his Uncle has said he had to run 10 times around the length of the meadow that he would have understand, but no one had ever called it a 'lap' before.
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Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2008 10:37 am
Patience was a virtue that had taken him years to master and yet here he was in the process of enduring the ultimate test. He had taught teenagers, he had sparred with those his own age but teaching a foal was entirely different. They failed to comprehend a great deal and more often than not the stallion had to remind himself that foals didn't have as lengthy a vocabulary as a more mature creature. It wasn't their fault but the necessity for him to explain everything was just as exhausting (if not more so) as patrolling the slopes was. To be entirely honest he would have found patrolling easier, even if he was doing timed routes!
Shaking his head, the stallion chose instead to walk beyond the small stream towards the respective meadow. It was easier for him to explain and instruct with visual aids, he could use simple words and point at things at his wings - yeah, he'd totally be able to do it that way. This in mind he kept his gaze ahead and remained silent as he directed the colt towards the specified location. Granted the colt would probably spot it before him given it's popularity but eh...what could he do?
"A lap," he said finally, coming to a halt after a considerable amount of walking. "Is what you call running around the entire outer rim of an area," he pointed with his wing to each of the four corners. "Think of it as a very big circle - that should answer your question sufficiently."
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Posted: Sun Dec 28, 2008 9:12 am
Kodah was probably the ideal to foal to completely grate on his Uncle's nerves, but he didn't always do it on purpose. He was young and impetuous - but he would hate to think that he would never amount to anything, and would grudgingly follow Ambroise's instructions, even if he had no idea why he was doing so as yet.
'Oh that's a lap? Why didn't you just say I had to run around the meadow ten times?' he replied, slightly cheekily as he followed his Uncle.
'You want me to do that now right?' he looked around the meadow, bouncing a little on the spot, his winglets flaring out as he did so. It didn't look that much, and he felt he could easily do that.
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Posted: Mon Dec 29, 2008 10:37 am
Ambroise's tail flew out in the same fashion to that of a whip and abruptly slapped against the rump of his nephew. His eyes flashed with obvious distaste at the cheek and yet, in a mere second this was gone. It had been an immediate reaction and would probably be one that Nivriti wouldn't approve of but Ambroise would be the first to point out that a quick tongue was a death trap, but a smart tongue could have many advantages. If stern discipline was required then so be it - if they disapproved of his methods than both his sister in law and his brother could attend to their child themselves!
"A lap is more concise," Ambroise replied darkly, his eyes narrowing somewhat at the bobbing youngster. He certainly had the energy even if his tongue was a pain in the backside. "Or can your head not grasp this yet?" he pointed out, arching a brow before he nudged the foal forward with his foreleg. Ruffling his wings against his sides, he stepped away from Kodah and cleared his throat.
"For your ill manners the laps are doubled - you think yourself strong," a smirk crept onto Ambroise's lips and he chuckled. "Prove it." He ordered softly, a direct challenge to the boisterous child.
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Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 7:20 am
'Owww!' Kodah flinched, his little face screwing up as his Uncle's tail once more hit him, his tender rear stinging for a moment from the whipping movement on it.
'What was that for?' he complained, not yet understanding the relation of his being cheeky to being punished. When Ambroise told him that the number of laps was doubled for him being cheeky he understood being physically punished even less. He looked darkly up at the older male, before starting to run his twenty! laps around the meadow.
The first few went by easily, he ran the circuit swiftly, sprinting often. But by about the 8th lap he was beginning to regret doing so, and during the teens he started to tire, having used up most of his energy when he tried to show off during the beginning of the laps. Sweat broke out on his hide, and he started flagging.
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