1 Frost 4622
Hoping to try and change a few things about the way that he had lived his life, Arnos had finally come to the decision to train his cat. Amara, his orange and brown furred Ocicat, wasn't exactly untrained so to speak. It was more so that she simply hadn't listened as effectively as the Moroi would have preferred. There were times in which she simply wouldn't come upon being called, which was rather normal for a cat but not exactly the kind of thing that Arnos had in mind for her. Add in the fact that she had a near aversion to other animals whilst being indifferent to just about any person and one might come to understand just why Arnos had felt that things were in need of change. At the same time though, such a thing might not even be all that surprising. These were technically ways in which a normal cat had behaved. For the most part at least. Honestly, if it wasn't for the fact that Amara had been rather intelligent and craft for her kind, Arnos might not even consider putting in the effort.
Bringing about change wasn't always a simple feat of course. Such a thing would require preparation, much like everything in this world. In this instance, there were only a few things that one might need to prepare. In Arnos' instance, the things that he would go on to acquire for his training were the following: treats (concocted from a blend of biscuits and raw fish), a cup that was filled with water, and ultimately a leather leash. Once he had these things on hand, Arnos would take his feline companion to the less cluttered end of his cottage and would begin the training. "Alright lovely. I understand that you might not quite understand me but.. I'm really hoping that this works. Are you perhaps ready?" A foolish question to ask the cat and yet one that he would make anyways. After about a minute of Amara simply remaining idle, Arnos would nod in approval and begin. "Right. I'll take that as a yes."
First and foremost would be the act of teaching Amara how to sit on command. This was something that he had seen several of the farmers teach their hounds and yet it didn't quite seem as though it would apply here. Hoping that it would though, at least to some degree, Arnos would begin to pick out a few of the treats that he had on his person. "Okay Amara. I know that you've seen the dogs about town do this so.. Sit." Much as expected, despite having heard the verbal command, Amara would simply remain lying there upon the ground. "That's... Not quite right." Picking up the cat and placing it in a manner that would leave it standing, Arnos would smile down at the beast. "I believe that this will be a smidge more effective.." The Moroi would than jut a single treat out of his hand and in between two of his fingers. He would than bring the treat towards the cats face so that it could pick up on the scent. Once the treat had grabbed Amara's attention, Arnos would raise it up so that the cats face would follow it. Unfortunately, Arnos had come to realize just how foolish such a thing had been. Without even waiting for a follow up command, Amara would leap up from the ground and grab a hold of Arnos' hand. Their claws had been out at the time and thus, they would dig into the Moroi's flesh, leaving Arnos with a stinging sensation and forcing him to drop the treat. Before he could even reach back out for the treat, Amara would slurp it on up and begin to attempt to trot off.
"Tch.. As if I'd allow things to end so quickly." Wishing for the training to continue on, Arnos would reach on out and grab the fleeing cat by the scruff of the neck. He would then place her just before him and would continue on. "Clearly there are going to have to be a few steps taken before we get to the point of immediately trusting you.. Jerk." Figuring that it would be best to keep the cats attention, Arnos would utilize the treats in a different manner. Instead of simply holding onto them, Arnos would spread a few out on the ground a few feet away from Amara. Amara would naturally get up to go after the treats and would devour them each time. This step would be repeated time and time again until Amara had picked up on the fact that Arnos was going to continue to lay them out for her. With each time that he would do this though, Arnos would be sure to point with his hand to where the food would be. This was to get into the mind of the cat a bit and to establish the fact that the sight of his finger indicates food.
After going back and forth with the cat on this a few times, Arnos would start to begin to place treats down. After pretending to do such a thing, Arnos would continue to point their finger to the spot in which the treats should have been dropped. Searching for food, Amara would take the time to draw closer to Arnos' hand. "Good girl~" This positive reinforcement would be said specifically in Kornaan for the sake of confusing those that don't understand it in the future. Of course it would be cruel for him to continue the ruse without rewarding Amara. She was going to need an incentive to continue and as such, after Amara had made her way over towards Arnos' hand, Arnos would be sure to offer her a treat from his other hand. This processes would continue on for quite some time and gradually, Arnos would be sure to raise his hand. This would result in Arnos rising from his lowered position with each attempt and of course Amara would still be rewarded the entire time.
Once Amara had managed to get the hang of this portion of the training, Arnos would take a seat on the ground beside her. He would than use this finger target of his to guide Amara over his leg. Eventually he would draw his hand up and back behind Amara's ears. Her head would begin to follow the treat and she would attempt to climb her way up Arnos' chest so that she could get to it. Seeing how he was going to need to prevent her from taking such an action though, Arnos would simply tell her to take a seat in Kornaan. Without understanding just what Arnos had been attempting to get across though, Arnos would have to lower the treat back down and cover it with his hands. It wasn't until her hind end was lowered to the ground that Arnos would uncover his hands and reveal the treat to her. From there he would repeat the process a few times. The goal was to embed this directive into her brain so that she recalls it in the future.
"Fear stops life. Not death."
