Unnamed Pig
Posted: Tue Mar 02, 2021 3:53 am
1st of Glade, 121
"Easy now," spoke the rath with outstretched claws, trying his best to stay the beast with words and gestures alone. The monster seemed to heed his words, if only for a moment. It scraped its claws through the snow-covered soil and grunted hard through its nose as it sized him up. Arkash swallowed hard and lowered his pose, ready to dodge and weave on a moment's notice. Then it squealed, and the sound brought Arkash to panic. He took a step back as it lowered its head to assume a more forward momentum, and caught his footclaws on a snow-covered, exposed root.
On a dime, the monstrous boar rushed him with a few heavy thuds across the icy forest floor, closed the gap with the floored rath, and drove its twitchy snout straight into his fur-wrapped chest. Arkash called out in surprise and reached to take the thing by the horns in an effort to stay the larger, stronger beast, but it was of little use. It was only four months old, he had to guess, but the Wrogon Wildboar was already as big as him, and plenty times stronger. He cried out in surprise as the beast searched him, poking harmlessly at his leather-veiled scales with its dull, miniature tusks.
The beast was looking for something, that much was certain; it sniffed quickly over the furs he wore, moving from place to place in search of the hidden cache of treats Arkash carried with him whenever he encountered the beast. "Off! Off of me!" He called in desperation and panic as the monster's wiggly nose pinned him to the icy ground with ease. All its weight and forward strength were too much for Arkash to combat on the ice, and he was left dependant on the aid of another. When he realized the pig's plan, however, he felt no shame in reaching out for help. "ASMODEI!" He cried at last.
The Velsign, after letting go of the pig's lead, had been stood there, laughing at the rathor's despair. "I think he missed you, you know," he spoke at last, and took a step forward to take the monster's leash, and carefully pulled it off the rath.
Arkash laid there for a moment, just breathing and gasping while he recovered from the wrestling. "More like it missed these beetles," he spoke with a shake of his head, then promptly sat up and brushed some of the dirt and snow from his furs while he looked over the apologetic-looking pig. Arkash had called it out. "I swear, I'm gone a week and it's no better than a wild animal again," he complained, shaking his head. Training such a beast was difficult, and he did so like an ordinary citizen might have done with a dog.
"You're doing pretty well considering you have no experience with animals," the Velsign offered with a grin beneath the plate armor of his helm.
"Pretty well?" The rath asked with a flex of his brow. "I'm doing amazing, Az," he corrected, then took a step toward the bound pig as he reached into his pocket to find the purse of gathered beetles. "Sit!" he commanded as he produced one, and the boar took a step forward and extended its wiggly nose to the smell. Clouds of condensation rolled in waves over Arkash's hand while he waited for the beast to act, and Asmodei adjusted his stance to hold back the monster's strength. Arkash hesitated; it wasn't listening. "SIT!" he ordered again, but the beast shoved its mouth roughly in an effort to snatch the beetle, Arkash reeled, and Asmodei strained to hold the beast back, but found no footing on the icy ground.
The Rathor's free hand shot out to hold the beast at bay by the horns, and he used the extension of his arm to hold it some distance away. Even so, it continued to push and shove, desperate to snag its promised treat. "JUST GIVE 'IM THE BUG!" Asmodei cried over the strain in his arms, desperate.
"NO!" Arkash called back with a hiss and bared his teeth while he stared down the boar's features. "PIG! SIT!" Still, the beast ignored his words and snapped its jaws in the direction of Arkash's spare hand. Arkash furrowed his brow then, bellowed a "FINE!" Before he tucked his hand back into his beetle purse to obscure the treat. "No treats!" he spoke triumphantly with a curl to his nose, and the beast slowed to a halt. Depressed squeals and whines followed, and the beast turned away and took a couple of steps from the rathor.
Asmodei kept the strain on the lead all the same, but he looked to Arkash with a disapproving shake of his head. "Now look what you've done," the Velsign accused, "you made him cry."
"It's a pig, Az," Arkash reminded with a roll of his misty eyes. Even so, the sad squealing did pull at his heartstrings, and he deflected the blame in an effort to cope with the guilt. "Pig," he called again and took a couple of steps toward the beast.
"You really should think about giving him a name, Ark," the velsign spoke while he held the boar steady.
Arkash shook his head at that, then placed a hand on the boar's back, just above the tail. "Sit!" he ordered and pushed down in an effort to make the boar sit. It didn't budge. "SIT!" he bellowed again and put both hands on the boar to extend his full body weight. The beast's hind legs began to shake, and it looked back with a tilt of its head before, finally, it lowered its flank to the ground and sat on the snow. "YEAH!" Arkash called excitedly and clapped his claws together as he walked around the beast's front, produced a beetle, and promptly fed the creature. "Good boy! You sat!" he congratulated. When the pig licked the beetle from his claws, he began to pet and scratch the monster's rough skin through its mane in an extension of his congratulations. It squealed happily, and a brush-like tail swept through the ground before it stood again.
"It doesn't need a name," Arkash spoke then with a shift in tone. "And stop calling it a 'he', it's just an animal," he shook his head.
Asmodei blinked quickly beneath his helm, then pursed his lips hard. "...You know, it's normal to give something a name when you're attached to it, there's no shame in such a thing."
Arkash pursed his lips hard, then looked to Asmodei with a flex of his brow. "...What makes you think I'm attached to it?" he asked as he took a step back, then held up a single claw. "SIT!" he ordered, and the Wrogon looked at him with a tilt of its head. "SIT!!" he commanded again, to no avail. With a sigh, he walked around the beast's side and began to push down on its flank while yelling the word "SIT!" over and over again. At last, the beast lowered its flank to the snow, and Arkash presented it with another beetle, lots of fuss, and rough mane scratches.
"...It's not hard to tell," Asmodei spoke with a turn of his gauntlet-wrapped hand. "You spend hours of the morning looking for grubs and beetles to feet him, worry about his feed when we're low, and your eyes are lighter after spending a few hours with him," the Velsign went on, and Arkash paused to think. "There's nothing wrong with liking a pet, Arkash. It's not as though you're weaker for treating an animal with kindness, or something."
Arkash shook his head finally. "I think if I keep training it like this, it's going to think the process is being told to sit, getting its butt pushed down, then receiving a treat-."
"Arkash," Asmodei pressed, and the Rathor bared his teeth.
"What?" he spat with a furrow to his brow, a clear warning that he'd turn hostile if the Velsign continued such a topic.
The winged man met his misty eyes briefly, then looked away with a scoff. "Alright, fine," he conceded. "I don't know what you're so scared of, but I'll humor you anyway," he spoke with a turn of his gauntlet-clad hand. Arkash curled his nose at the notion. He wasn't scared. Why was Asmodei behaving like such an idiot? It was a pig, nothing more, nothing less. It merely wasn't deserving of a name and there was no deeper meaning behind his supposed maintained distance.
He was about to say something hurtful when some strange noises caught his attention at the pig's front, and he turned to look in tandem with the Velsign to see the Wrogon leaning forward with its head hung low. It was heaving, no... Retching. Arkash stared wide-eyed, then took a step closer and ran his claws through its muzzle. Gently, he ran his claws through its mane. Was it choking? Did he have to dislodge the obstruction? "Pig?" he asked with a hint of worry, then reached a hand to its back, where he firmly slapped and pat in an effort to jostle the beast's throat a bit. After a few pats, the beast widened its jaws and hurled its breakfast on the snow. Arkash widened his eyes and curled his nose at the smell. At once, he took the pig by the horn and pulled its head back to keep it from eating its own vomit.
"Az, help," he spoke at last, and looked back at the false knight, who seemed to understand. With both hands, he pulled back on the Wrogon's lead, and the monster took a few steps away from the vomit. "It's sick," he spoke with a frown, then looked to the Velsign. "We need to get it medicine." Asmodei laughed a breath at that and rolled his eyes. Arkash furrowed his brow as he looked upon the Velsign, then tilted his head. "What? What's so funny?"
"Well, for one..." The Ebonknight began with a bow of his head. "You don't know if he's sick, he could have just choked. For two, I thought you didn't care?" Fury took the rathor's gaze at that, and he flicked his wrist in a display of anger before he snatched the lead himself and pulled to guide the pig away. "What are you-?"
"-If you won't help me, I'll do it myself," he spoke with a hiss, and pulled hard to coax the pig into following him to the city.
"...That's not what I said, Ark..." The Velsign called, but Arkash continued his angry storm to the capital. "You're still a lizard!" He reminded a warning, and Arkash began to shift into his Humanoid Form along the way. The cold in his scales was banished, replaced by the natural warmth of the mammalian blood that coursed through his veins. He didn't stop or wait for Asmodei, of course, and simply continued into Lower Nivenahin. The pig obediently followed with some tugging here and there, and Arkash offered it the occasional worried glance as he proceeded to the Outer District.
