Itonan Handling Is Different!?

A few weeks had passed since Morrigan came ashore with the latest group of immigrants and tourists from the old world. She had spent the time chatting up locals, learning the history of Itona, and exploring the city of Ynnis alongside some friendly guides who had shown her to their favorite restaurants and shops. Overall the young woman was starting to feel a bit more at home in the strange new city but there was one particular aspect of life here that she still didn't quite understand. Hounds. Everywhere she went there were hounds! Morrigan had never met an animal she didn't like, and these hounds were no exception though she'd quickly learned that some had quite a hot temper.

 

After a near miss with the jaws of one of the foul-tempered pups, Morrigan had been invited to a basic handling course. Handling animals was not a foreign concept to her, having worked on her grandmother's farm, but these hounds were quite different than she was used to and there seemed to be an etiquette in Itona around interactions with them. Feeling a little sheepish at having misread the situation and nearly getting herself bit she eagerly accepted the offer and counted down the days to the class with a sort of frenzied excitement. She always loved learning new things!

 

Walking into the dimly lit warehouse was slightly unnerving but Morrigan tried not to let it show. She wasn't sure what she'd expected, but it certainly hadn't been a massive room that looked more like it should be housing crates of goods that had just been or were about to be on one of the ships that frequented the port. The brunette felt out of place with her self-made blouse and knee-length pants. She'd noticed that fashion here was as varied as the foods but what she thought of as practical attire managed to look both under and overdressed compared to the other participants. Taking a closer look at the rest of the would-be handlers she noted that some of them already had leashes in hand and she frowned, not having realized she would need to bring her hound. She didn't bring much money when she left home, and she was still getting used to the prices of things in Itona. Did she even have enough funds for one of the creatures?

 

Just as she was about to leave and see about coming back some other time when she had a hound of her own a woman with a brilliant smile and giddy demeanor tapped her shoulder and offered her a leash. Following the leather strip to the other end, Morrigan's mouth fell open and her eyes widened. The leash was attached to the collar of a beautifully rich-brown hound with striking white accents and vibrant green eyes. "I... th-thank you! What is..." she glanced at the abdomen of the hound, "her name?" The other woman shrugged "The shelter has been calling her 'Candy' because she's pretty sweet for a stray that wasn't claimed. But... if you two get on well you could adopt her and call her whatever you like!" With a wink, the woman headed toward the front of the room and cleared her throat to gain the attention of everyone present. Morrigan quickly moved to stand with the rest of the participants and was grateful that the hound she'd been given seemed to be fairly well-trained already and had decent leash manners.

 

As the class went on Morrigan found herself intrigued by the techniques they used with their hounds and all of the purposes that the creatures served. Of course, there had been the occasional farm hound back home, her grandmother even had one, but they were mostly outside with the livestock and their job was just to scare off predators. Things in Itona were certainly more involved and she found herself quickly becoming determined to learn how these partnerships worked and explore the boundaries of what they may be capable of when working together with the canines. All too soon it was time to give a demonstration of what they'd learned and Morrigan found herself turning to face the chocolate hound beside her and praying that the exercises they had practiced during class had built up a decent report between them so the hound would cooperate.

 

Holding the leather leash in her right hand and reaching into the pocket where she had stashed the treats that had been provided with her left Morrigan took a deep breath. "Alright, Candy, do you know how to 'sit'?" she asked the hound, her tone more questioning than command. The hound tilted her head slightly to the side before yawning and raising a rear leg to scratch at an itch. Morrigan nodded, understanding now that while she may have decent leash manners the hound wasn't used to commands, or at least not used to receiving them from a stranger. Pulling a treat from her pocket she brought her closed hand toward the nose of the hound, allowing her canine partner to get a good sniff of the dried liver treat before slowly moving her hand up and over the head, coaxing the hound to lower her haunches into the correct position. It took a few tries, the hound initially kept trying to back up, rather than sit, and Morrigan had to adjust her approach to meet in the middle but eventually, they pulled it off. As soon as her hound's haunches touched the floor the young woman quickly put a treat into her mouth before offering up a few in her open palm. "Yes! That's a good girl! Such a good 'sit'!"

 

They repeated the process a few more times until the woman who had given Morrigan the leash arrived to evaluate their performance. Upon seeing the successful pair the guild representative grinned happily and provided a small certificate that stated Morrigan had passed her basic handling course. The excitement and joy the woman felt at her achievement was dampened slightly as she realized she would have to return her borrowed companion. Handing over the leash the young woman vowed to stop by the shelter the next morning and see what she could do to adopt the female who had been her introduction to the world of Itonan hounds.