Training Terra

Somewhere in the path to citizenship Akadia had ended up in possession of something the locals called a hound. As far as she was concerned, though, her new ward was called Terra, and she was the bestest girl in the whole wide world! Most of the time.

Crow wasn't exactly as thrilled with her new aquirement as she was, but it was too late to put her back now. Besides, what was the appropriate response to someone asking, "Hey, kid, you want a hound?" if not "Yes, absolutely, please give?"

She never did get an answer from him, just a sigh and a head shake. Which obviously meant that her answer was the correct one.

He then proceeded to inform her that owning a hound wouldn't be all rainbows and sunshine like he assumed she thought it would be. It would require her to care for the hound, feed and water her, bathe her, walk her, among other things.

Frankly, that all sounded like a great time to Akadia. After fawning over every other hound she had come across in the past few days, it only felt right that she attain one of her own. Luckily Crow, buisness savy as he was, had caught wind of a free class coming up that would help them get started with training their new furry friend.

Akadia did her best to work with Terra until the time came to attend the class. She was a little aloof, and didn't always understand right away, but she seemed motivated enough. Akadia was pretty sure that, with some time and work, Terra had the potential to be a real good hound.

When the day finally rolled around, Akadia leashed up her furry friend and hauled her off to not at all shady building near the port. Crow came with too. Something about ruining other people's days? Akadia was far more interested in trailing after her hound.

There was a handful of other hound owners at the class, all presumably as new to this as they were. They made small talk for a bit and let their hounds meet before the session actually started, but by the end of it, Akadia could hardly remember any of the name's she'd gotten. Did she actually get any, though? She wasn't sure she'd ever get past just how varied hounds could be. Blue, black, brown, white, horns, tails long and short. No two looked the same, it was amazing.

Then a bubbly woman in a nice dress put herself ahead of the group and called for their attention. She claimed to be a representative of the Trainer's Guild, whatever that was. She had a cute pup with her, too. They sat patiently at her feet while she spoke meanwhile Terra walked in circles around Akadia, sniffing and pawing at everything.

Akadia tried to focus, she really did, but she found it difficult when all she could think about was hounds and how it might feel to be burried in their soft fur. She definitely needed another one. Terra was probably lonely being the only one.

"Aren't you, baby?" She found herself voicing her thoughts without meaning to.

The toller peered up at her with sea-colored eyes. Terra tilted her head slightly. She understood she was being spoken to, but that was the extent of it.

Luckily for both of them, Crow seemed to be fully engrossed in what the trainer had to say. Akadia would just have to ask him about it later.

Soon their teacher launches into a delightful rave about treats and their use in training hounds. After all, who wouldn't want a tasty snack? Especially when all it took was a simple action.

"Next, I want you all to try it. Leash your hound just like I showed you and try to get them to sit," the woman instructed.

Crow had to assist Akadia with the proper technique at first, but she picked it up quickly. He grumbled that she could have done it on her own the first time if she had just been paying attention, but she ignored that too.

"Okay, now sit!" Akadia told Terra, holding a treat over her.

Terra stared at her handler for a moment, trying to decide what to do. She wanted the treat, obviously, but how to get it? She settled on barking and jumping up to get it herself.

Akadia pulled back quickly, but the added weight nearly threw her off balance. "No, no! Sit!"

Crow sighed and pressed his hand against his head. This was going to take a while.