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 Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2011 8:55 pm
 
"First of all, always watch your step. The biggest danger of the swamp is the ground. I don't care how fast you think you can run away from a gator, it won't matter if the mud traps you or swallows you up." The larger stallion paused again allowing this information to set in. "Now, watch as I cross over this bit of ground over here. No no, just watch." He said as Cereus started to move forward. "You'll have a chance to try it in just a moment." Carefully and slowly, the mutated creature made his way over the muck and safely to a patch of solid ground. Of course he could have moved much faster, but his son did not have the years of practice and he needed to see every step, every move that Boi made. "There, now you try it."
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Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2011 9:11 pm
The colt had carefully listened as his father spoke and studied every move that the stallion made. He took his lessons seriously and he knew the dangers of the swamp. Or at least he thought he knew them. If there was one thing that his father and mother had taught him, it was that the world was a constantly changing thing and no matter how much you might think you know, you still don't know half as much as you think you do.
With his father on the other side, the colt took a step forward and glued his eyes to the ground. Ordinarily he knew it was a mistake to take his eyes off of his surroundings, but with his father close by, he knew that for now he was safe. Putting one hoof forward, he took his first step... and immediately began to feel the mud pulling his leg down. Cereus let out a little squeal of protest but quickly took deep calming breaths. It would do him no good to panic and he refused to look weak in front of his father. No, that wasn't it. He just plain refused to be weak. Period.
Calmly, he pulled his hoof out of the mud with a wet sucking plop and placed it back on solid ground. The next time he moved forward, he carefully tested the solidity of the ground before putting his full weight onto his hoof. There! As long as he was careful and cautious, he would be just fine. Having learned his first lesson, the colt made his way over to his father and looked up at him with pride.
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Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2011 5:46 pm
Boi watched his son without expression. Feelings were for the weak and it was one of the many lessons that he would teach the young mutant. Love, hope, happiness and other such emotions would only get you killed out in the bayou. He had seen it happen before and had learned to harden himself. Perhaps it was even what had eventually killed his own mother, but that, he may never know. No, it would do no good to dwell on emotions, it was better to simply focus on survival, and this was the largest, and perhaps the hardest lesson for Cereus to learn.
“That will do for now.” He told the foal. “But you most practice. One day your life could depend on it and neither I, nor your mother will be around to protect you. There are many dangers in the swamp and even in the surrounding world. Though I do hope you may never have to encounter them. But I digress, now onto the next lesson. You must learn to blend into your surroundings, learn to disappear into the shadows, to be undetected. Perhaps the hardest part of this may be in concealing your eyes. You must learn to close them and use your other senses to move through your surroundings. If you were to open your eyes, you would only give away your position.”
The stallion paused for a few moments so that he might demonstrate. The shadows of the bayou were thickest beneath the nearest stand of branches, thick with weeds and moss. Examining the ground, the stallion noted that it was fairly firm. A thin layer of wet mud covered the hard packed dirt that lay beneath and would support his weight without any issue. Closing his eyes, Boi-Tatá focused on allowing the rest of his senses to take him over. He listened to the birds high up in the trees, smelled the nearby water, felt the mud beneath his feet, and could taste the humid, stale, air of the swamp in his mouth. Slowly, the stallion carefully made his way over the muddy ground, attempting to leave very little trace that he had ever been there. Once he was sure that he could no longer be seen, he slowly opened his eyes to be sure that his son had paid careful attention.
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Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2011 5:47 pm
Cereus had been sure to watch every move that his father made. He hadn’t been upset that he had not been praised for achieving his first lesson, rather proud that he hadn’t upset his father in anyway. The lack of emotion that his father showed him was nothing new to the foal and he had grown quite accustomed to it. When he had been newly born, he had to admit that, he had been rather disappointed when his father seemed to take little interest in what he did, but he had quickly learned that, although he might not show it, his father cared for him a great deal. It had since been his goal to make his father as proud as he could, even if he never received any praise.
As Boi disappeared into the darkness he carefully studied every move that the stallion made. He noticed the way that his father was very careful not to leave any trace that he had ever been there, and within a few moments, the stallion was completely hidden in the shadows. Seconds later his eyes flashed to life and Boi stepped back into view.
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Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2011 5:50 pm
“Now then,” The stallion started. “I don’t expect you to be able to disappear completely on your first try. It may take many tries and there may be many failures. However, if you want to survive in this swamp you must learn to achieve this. The first thing that you will need to do is study your surroundings. You need to find shadows in a large enough space that you can fit. If the space is too small or there aren’t enough shadows, you will not be able to achieve full invisibility and your attempt will be worthless. Second, and possibly most important of all, you need to survey the ground around your hiding space. If it is above a sink hole, or if the ground has too much water the space is useless. Water will only give away where you are if you are to move, however, in another situation water could potentially save your life, but that is another lesson altogether.”
Boi paused for a few moments to allow all this information to sink in and to make sure that the foal didn’t have any questions. When Cereus remained silent, he continued on. “Once you have found the perfect spot. You will need to move into it as quickly, silently, and carefully as possible. How fast and quietly you make it there will only result in practice, but you can control how careful you are. Even the smallest mistake can cost you your life, so this step may be the most important. With your spot scoped out, you need to quickly memorize any holes, bumps, rocks, or anything else that could possibly upset your footing so that you may avoid it with your eyes closed. As you move into position, you will close your eyes and focus on your hooves. If you gently place them where you have pre-memorized then you may yet avoid any accidents. Why don’t you give it a shot? Try it with your eyes open first to get the hang of it.”
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Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2011 5:55 pm
The foal listened carefully to his father. He knew that everything he was told was important and that he would need to memorize every word. Cereus doubted that he would ever have the chance to receive this lesson again. Slowly, the young colt studied the land as his father had. The wet layer of mud that covered the ground would be problematic for covering his tracks but there were plenty of shadows that he could hide in. He hadn’t been sure exactly how his father had managed to do it before, but he would be sure to try and mimic every move that his sire had. Noting several rocks and dips in the earth, he began to make his way carefully over the muck. As he moved, Cereus was painstakingly careful to leave no tracks. He placed his back hooves exactly where his front ones had been and stepped on only rocks and small patches of grass when possible.
After a few minutes of work, the foal was hidden within the shadows of the surrounding brush. There were a few tracks left behind, but not many and almost undetectable. In time, he would learn how to move as if he had never even been. Bursting with with pride in what he had managed to accomplish on his first try, the foal looked to his father.
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Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2011 12:55 pm
Boi-Tatá watched his son, his face void of any emotion. Yet, inside he was bursting with pride. How quickly the colt was picking up on his lessons surprised the stallion. He couldn't remember how many times that he himself had had to practice these moves before coming even close to them. The stallion was proud of his son, but he knew that emotion would do no good in training. As much as he wanted to show the pride on his face, he knew that it would only hinder the training. However, a few words of encouragement wouldn't hurt would it?
"Excellent." He began. "But you still have a long ways to go. We can work on this some more in the future and you'll be a pro in no time. However, we'll take a little break from it for now and I'll teach you another important skill." The stallion turned from his son and moved a few yards away, not bothering to check to see if he followed. After a few more paces, he stopped and waited for Cereus to catch up to him. "Here we are, I'll be teaching you how to set a trap. There are many types of traps, and just as many uses for them. They can be used to capture prey and even to ensnare your enemies. To start, I'm going to show you a very simple trap. This one is best used if you have someone chasing you and you know that you can't outrun them. This might not completely stop them, but it could hinder them for a few moments." Boi paused for a moment and then made his way over to a rather large tree. He stopped then and turned to Cereus to see if he was paying attention.
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Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2011 1:08 pm
Cereus' expectant face fell a little as his father spoke. He supposed he had been hoping for a little more pride, but it was the way his father operated. He didn't believe in showing much emotion, as he said, emotion was for the weak, and it only made you weak. Or at least he thought that was what it was. In any case, the foal had learned that emotion can hinder your survival, so in retrospect, he hadn't actually been expecting any praise in the first place.
Shaking his head, the foal trotted along behind his father, paying particular attention to where his tiny hooves landed. It would do no good for him to start forgetting his lessons only moments after learning them. While his father might not believe in showing emotion, anger was one that he did allow to show, and Cereus had no desire to bring it out.
As his father stopped, the colt stopped with him and stood waiting expectantly for his next lesson. Careful to listen to every word that his father spoke. Examining every movement, and memorizing the whole lot of it.
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Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2011 2:49 pm
Satisfied that his son was, indeed, paying attention, the stallion continued on with his lesson. "Alright, for this first little trick you're going to need a rather sturdy vine. You don't really want it to be too fat, but you also don't want it to break too easily. It also needs to be long enough to stretch between two trees like this." He picked a suitable vine and strung it across a path between two trees.
Finished, the stallion turned once more to his son. "You see how I created a line here? Depending on where you place it, you can manipulate how the soquili will run into it. This is typically the best way." He motioned once more to the contraption. "Just a few inches off of the ground. It's not so big that it is easily detected, but it isn't going to snap before it's purpose has been served either. Now, when the soquili or creature chasing you runs over this, their feet should catch it and it will send them tumbling over themselves. This could potentially knock them out, cause an injury, or even just slow them down. In any case it gives you a decent advantage in your escape."
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Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 7:16 pm
The colt noted every movement that his father made. It was amazing how vast his knowledge of survival was. Cereus supposed it was likely from all of his years living in the swamp alone. Every day in this wilderness was an opportunity for practice and to learn new things. As it was, in his short time in this world, Cereus himself had learned more than he would have thought possible. At this rate, the foal might have a chance to become even more skilled than his own father was.
After his father was finished demonstrating, the colt made his way over to examine the trap. It seemed easy enough to pull off. He supposed that the trickiest bit would be winding the rope around the tree tight enough to hold it there. Looking at his hooves, he cursed not having the nimble digits that some creatures had. Satisfied that he had learned all that he could from studying the rope, he turned to his father expectantly.
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Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 7:24 pm
For a few moments, Boi debated on having his son try to set up his rope trick but decided against it. The foal had had enough of a chance to learn it. Setting it up wouldn't do much more for him and there were still more traps to teach. Making up his mind, the stallion motioned for his son to follow him.
The next trap that he would set up would be a bit more useful. It was a net of sorts and would serve several purposes. All of which could come in handy. "So now that you've learned the easy one, we're going to go onto something a bit more difficult. I call this one the net." Boi made his way over to a large tree and began selecting as many sturdy vines as he could. "The first thing that you'll need to do is find yourself some vines. As with the rope trick, you want good sturdy vines. Not too thick and not too thin. These," He motioned to the vines that he had selected. "Should do nicely. Now then, the first thing you'll need to do is figure out how to tie a knot. For those of us with hooves, it's a bit more difficult than you would think. Unfortunately we're lacking those nice nimble hands that the humans have. Sometimes, if you have a familiar with little fingers such as nefarious, you can enlist their help. Since this isn't always an option, I'll start by teaching you how to tie these together." The stallion then began the tricky process, careful to ensure that his son could see every move that he made.
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Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 7:33 pm
Moving into a better position, the colt knit his eyes together and concentrated on watching every move that his father made. He knew that this could be one of the biggest lessons that he could possibly learn. Then again he supposed he could always be wrong. Either way, anything that his father taught him was important and not to be overlooked or ignored.
The vines appeared to be tricky to maneuver but his father seemed to be unhindered in his work. The stallion placed his hoof on one end of a vine and gripped the other with his mouth. Once he had a hold of it, he would move it just so, and managed to work the vine around itself into a knot. Then, the stallion grabbed another vine with his mouth, placing it once more beneath his hoof and managed to work the other end around his previous vine. It was a complicated process but in the end the two vines were securely connected to one another.
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Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 8:00 pm
Looking up from his work, the stallion noticed his son studying every move that he made. Boi nodded his approval and then moved the rope about so that his son could get a good look at it. "By tying these knots together you can wind the rope about and make a net. Here, if you come over here I can show you how to manipulate the vines." He motioned to his son to stand next to him.
"Take the vine like this." He demonstrated. "Then if you move it about like this, you can get a decent knot. Here you try." He handed the vine to Cereus. The colt determinedly took the vine and held it as his father had shown him. Next he carefully moved the rope about in the manner as had been demonstrated. It took him several moments and a few tries, but he managed to get a decent knot.
"There you go. Now you've got the hang of it. You see how we've begun to make a pattern here?" Boi nodded to the beginnings of the net. "Just keep doing this until you have a good sized net. If we both work on it together it will be done in no time." The two became silent as they each worked on a bit of the net together.
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Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 8:09 pm
Cereus had been excited when his father asked him to help. The colt had eagerly made his way over and quickly taken to creating the knots. They were definitely difficult at first, and he was much slower and clumsier than his father was, yet he still managed to keep going. It was simple really, just moving the vines about each other, yet there was definitely a challenge to it. At first, Cereus had had a bit of difficulty trying to wind them together, but once he had found a nice rhythm to it things had become much easier.
After what felt like forever, the colt looked down to see a finished net. He and his father had managed to connect their bits together and it had come out in a bit of a circular pattern. This net wasn't too terribly large, maybe about his own size, but he had a feeling his father had only wanted to demonstrate how to make it, not how large. Beaming with pride, he looked to his father for further instruction.
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Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 8:19 pm
Taking a step back, the stallion looked down to examine their work. The net itself looked a bit sloppy and wasn't too terribly impressive in itself. However, being his son's first net, Boi felt himself swelling with pride.
"Now then, this isn't the biggest net I've made, nor is it necessarily optimal for every situation. However, for the purposes of our lesson it is satisfactory. Your knots are certainly improving and as long as you keep at them you will continue to do so." He paused then and thought a few moments. He debated on continuing with his lesson, however, perhaps this hands on stuff was good for Cereus? Yes, he'd stick with that.
"We have a net. Now, what can we do with it?" He asked his son, hoping to get some sort of decent answer from him.
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