Ch7 - How to Train your Lizard (Patreon)

Once in a while, when you try to really sit down and define for yourself who you are, the easier route is always to define who you aren’t in comparison to pinpointing the exact shape and feel of your personality. For myself, a couple of easy examples would be: “I am not a perfect person, nor do I see the point in aiming for it.”, “even though I share many traits with extrovert people, I am not extrovert.”, “Not a hugger.”, and always the pertinent one: “I have never been a morning person.” This morning, however, my awakening was subtly different. My eyes were grainy, head heavy and the sunlight blinding, but beneath it all was a benevolent presence, languid and comfortable, relishing in the feeling of the morning sun on the neighboring roof. It’s surprisingly hard to remain your regular grumpy morning self, when there’s a set of emotions next to yours that insist that everything about the world is as it should be. I stuck my head out the window to greet him, and while it felt like he acknowledged my presence, he certainly didn’t move a muscle. A short while later, I was chomping my way through a full breakfast of cold chicken (Well, it tasted like chicken anyway. To date, I had seen no hens around here.)  - and greenstuffs accompanied by my second cup of coffee for the day, and I was feeling positively chirpy.  

As Gillem was still sleeping after taking yesterday’s evening shift, I spent a short while chatting with Jeb while I unloaded all the viper meat that Lyle and I had gathered the day before. He perked up the moment I showed him one of the slabs, but the moment I gave him the viper egg from Naevys and told him that we had thirty four pieces of meat - almost twenty kilos total - his eyebrows threatened to leave his brow.

“Mister, promise you’ll spill the tale some day. We’ll buy it for sure - it’ll keep folks fed for a couple of days, and the taste’s swell. Spicy and gamey both. Dunno how much Da’ll part with for the lot though - hang on to it ‘till I ask ‘im?”

A sudden idea struck me, and I waved off his concerns, “You just keep it, I’ll talk price with Gillem. Oh, and tell him, if he wants to owe a good dinner at some point where I’d like something better than usual, I’ll take that instead of money.” I wasn’t entirely sure why I said that, but my purse wasn’t completely empty at the time, and the feeling of being ever so slightly ahead of the game just sounded right for the moment.

We parted ways, and I headed straight for my curiously unnamed companion. He’d moved further down the neighbor building and was hovering over a side window, taking the occasional pot shot at one of the fat flies that were buzzing lazily in the morning sun. His coloring at the moment was a lot brighter than yesterday, likely to absorb as much as the sun’s heat as possible. Given the pleased sensation that buzzed through our bond, I was in no hurry to get going, and decided instead to sit down and consider how best to approach this. Hmm – if I wanted a good companion, I had probably better try and learn how to actually communicate with him. The ability to sense his feelings wouldn’t help much, when I wanted to say "You attack the one on the left." If we made some progress on that, maybe we could move on to something more important - agreeing on an actual name for him. Just calling him “my companion” was starting to get weird. Full disclosure: The type who has his hands hovering over the keyboard for twenty minutes before he finally comes up with a name he likes? That’s me. I already knew the naming part might take a while. 

Ah, well - first things first. Even before I got around to try and communicate with him, I wanted to learn exactly how much information I could glean through the bond. At the very end of his hunt the day before, I’d almost felt that I could hear the crunching as he chomped down on the poor squirrel. It might just have been my over-active imagination, but the possibilities…I shook my head and got to work. The bond was right there in front of me, and when I was this close to him, the bond was readily available and “visible” to my mind’s eye. The major sensations emanating from him were entirely transparent - a deep-rooted pleasure with the heat of the morning sun, an already half-full stomach and the easy meal in the moribund flies before him. Focusing my attention entirely on our bond, I was able to discern a deeper layer of emotions pulsing below - a minor indignation with the fact that the sun would soon move to the other side of the building, and the annoying sensation of a couple of itchy scales that his claws were unable to reach and he just couldn’t make the itch go away using the tail.

This blend of physical sensations, thoughts and emotions was almost too much to make sense of at once - one at a time was understandable, but the combination made the experience rather overwhelming. I decided to try something, and mentally sent an image of him coming down to me on the ground and he gracefully made the vertical climb down the wall towards me. Well, I had to “ask” a few times. Apparently, the flies were just too good, and the sun just right, because it took some insisting before he finally acquiesced. I didn’t mind that much, because I was trying hard as I could to keep the physical sensations in the bond set apart from the rest. I slowly approached him, and reached my hand towards him at glacial speed, giving him every possibility to pull back. When he didn’t, I reached for the scales that was bothering him, and softly started scratching him. The surprise from the bond momentarily drowned out the physical sensations, but then they returned - the physical sensation of the itch being taken care of, inter-weaved with an almost overwhelming sense of well-being. 

I was learning, however, and with the attention I paid, I was soon able to tell everything better apart. While his emotions and thoughts felt like they were fluttering all over the place with the overall predictability of the proverbial butterfly, the physical sensations felt more like an ever-present constant behind the scenes. Minutes later, when he was satisfied with the back scratches, he returned to his position above the window. I kept my focus entirely on his senses, and was soon able to dig a little deeper. Thus far, I had mostly been able to tell the dominating sensations, but underneath it all, they were all present. 

I don’t know how much time I spent just moving my attention around, focusing first on the sensation of one claw clinging to the wooden wall, then the (surprisingly juicy) taste of a of a fly buzzing its last or the cold of a momentary breeze on his scales, but when I opened my eyes and stood up, my knees and neck popped from inactivity and I was surprised to see that he had actually moved around the corner to better catch the rays of the sun.

“Huh - it’s easy to get distracted in there. But - does that mean distance isn’t a factor?” I instantly returned to my focus, and while it was more difficult to keep concentrating with my eyes opened, it was definitely doable - kind of a schizophrenic experience though. I slowly moved backwards, and quickly had to realize that I wouldn’t be able to keep track of him from the other side of the forest - the most fleeting sensations started to become fuzzy and unintelligible at twenty meters of distance, and even the uppermost sensations started to become slippery at twice that. Perhaps that might improve with practice - but for now, it was time for the big test. I returned to place myself right in front of him and closed my eyes - and tried reaching out for his hearing. To my surprise, I caught on right away and had to contend with a second set of sounds intermingling with my own hearing. The sound of it was tinny and a bit off - like a set of headphones that didn’t work properly - but I could hear the surroundings, and quite well at that. “That just leaves the big one.” I murmured, and dove back in. 

The connection, once again, just clicked, and I found myself seeing through his eyes. The experience this time, however, was entirely alien. While I’d understood the part about 360 degrees visibility, I was most assuredly not prepared for the experience of one eye focusing downwards and zooming in on an insect at the same time that the other one rolled back in the head and focused on a hind claw secure its traction. When the backwards-facing eye then zoomed back out and rolled forward to combine with the other in a sort of binocular vision, my focus snapped, and I buried my head in my hands, watching a 1-minute “Minor sensory overload” debuff appear along with the beginnings of a headache. Ten minutes and five tries later, and I’d decided that it didn’t seem like it was getting any better. All right, so that likely wasn’t something I was going to use often, except for emergencies. Still, I’d gotten a full house here - all five senses present and manageable even though his sense of smell was horrible and eyesight problematic - this was going to make any future scouting or spying an absolute friggin joy!

The next part on my to-do list, however, left me at a loss and pacing back and forth, trying to determine how to move onward. I needed to learn how to talk with him - not just send an image and being able to interpret some of the emotions the, but proper two-way communication. Otherwise any combat situation would become completely muddled. Not only that, any hope I had of him helping Lyle and me with more complex situations  - for instance scouting or spying where detailed, precise feedback was a necessity - would fade away. Ah, well, it gave me a proper excuse to go see Naevys and ask her for some tips on the matter - I had no doubt she knew more about animals and animal bonds than the rest of the village combined. Of course, the tiny, gorgeous elf also had a fascinating personality and impressive, if baffling, intellect hidden beneath that red blond tousled hat of hair. 

Making the decision to leave was easy - convincing my companion to come along? Not so much. He kept projecting the lovely sensation of the warmth from the sun coupled with a light breeze – and a vague desire to go into the woods to find larger prey. Eventually, the image of myself playing for him while we walked did the trick, but I got a definite vibe of "All right, but I’m doing it under duress." from him. I was happy to discover that his movement speed, when he wasn’t trying to be stealthy, matched a decent strolling speed for me and we made good time, even though my neck was protesting from playing while walking.

Naevys wasn’t in when we arrived, and I was left wondering at how her abode seemed subtly different when she wasn’t around – messier and somehow less colorful. I didn’t have time to speculate on her whereabouts, though, as a moment later she came wandering out from between the trees, smiling in welcome. Her hair was even messier than usual, and her mouth was stained with colors, from berries supposedly. All told, she gave off the impression of a mischievous child. (ignoring of course her female form, which, though petite, was anything but childlike) My companion ignored both of us, disappearing from sight into the canopy of the large trees.

"Arcangelo. I was wondering when you’d come visiting."

I smiled at her, "You were so certain I’d be here today?"

Her delighted laughter rang from her, causing a few leaves to dislodge from her hair, drifting to the ground. "Today, you are a parent. Nature can be wonderful and cruel both, but it does obey certain laws. Among all humanoids, on law is constant: Newly fledged parents will panic. And who else would you go to for advice?"

I could feel one side of my mouth creeping upwards, "So – would that make you the benevolent grandmother who knows everything?"

Her brow furrowed, "I’m not sure I approve of the way you make that sound – but all-knowing, I will grant." The last part was delivered with a quick grin. "Now, how may I assist the lucky father? Have you agreed on a name?"

I quelled the impulse to stick out my tongue at her, and simply said, "No, that is the next part of my plan. First, I want to learn how to talk with him. What to do, what are the limits, where should I start – basically – everything on that subject, I guess."

She smiled. "Agreeable. Your goal is praiseworthy, and I have the knowledge to aid you. However, it will come at a cost."

I tried to hide a frown. "How much of a cost?" My personal money tree was almost entirely deleaved at the moment.

Her smile grew wider, "I hold hopes that you, along with the rest of the lesser races, come to learn this at some point: The common coin you use has no actual worth. No, I intend to take my payment in a form worthy of meaning." She pointed at me with a meaningful smile.

My face instantly felt red. She wanted me to pay with...my body? A range of emotions flashed through my mind before I noticed that the direction her finger was pointing in wasn't straight at me, but at - oh. "The violin?" I coughed, my mind racing to get back on track. "You want violin lessons?"

She nodded. Was that a knowing smile? "Yes. At times I find myself in a sad mood, and I believe the violin would serve me better than my flute there."

[You have been offered a quest: “Let Your Fingers Do The Talking” . 

Naevys Fenmarel has agreed to teach you the skills to communicate properly with your Animal Companion. In return, you are to teach her the basics of playing the violin.

Rewards: 

300 experience

Additional reward for outstanding result: Unknown

Penalty for failing to reach an agreeable level within a month: -750 reputation with Naevys.

Accept/decline?]

Accepting the quest, I nodded in agreement. "No problem whatsoever - I look forward to it."

She folded her hands in front of her with a bedazzling smile. "I appreciate that Arcangelo. Teach me well, and I will teach you something special in return."

I just nodded, keeping my face neutral. What was it with her and the innuendo today? I'd need a cold shower later to take my mind somewhere else.

Fortunately, Naevys clapped her hands, bringing my mind was back to the present. “All right, let us proceed. Tell me, what do you know about training animals?”

We quickly dispersed with the formalities. The only animal I’d ever helped train was my parents’ old Irish Setter. I’d been six years old. Also, the only knowledge I had concerning Animal Companions and their bonds was what I’d learned within the past 24 hours. A blank slate really. Yeah - better look on the bright side.

We’d moved to her dwelling, and I was sprawled comfortably in the heap of blankets and pillows that made up her bed while she paced the room, petting a wooden…bird of some kind. After a while, she came to a stop and turned towards me, “Repetition. That’s key. Repetition, perseverance and respect. After the initial phase, improvisation and a good sense of imagination also come into play, but that will likely come easier to an artistic mind such as you. For now, we will keep it limited until you both have the basics down by rote.” She sat down cross-legged in front of me, keeping eye contact with a serious mien. “I should spell out the ground rules before you begin your training - it could save you some disappointment in the long run: First, he will never be able to talk. He has no vocal chords - it is, quite frankly, impossible. Second, his ability to learn are limited by your teaching capabilities. If your methods are flawed, his learning will be too. And third, I cannot tell you how far he can advance. Numerous factors play in apart from what I have already mentioned- among these, his race, his intelligence and the question of how compatible the two of you are. You can always come to me for guidance, but beyond a certain point you two will have to leave the nest and learn how to fly for yourselves.” 

I nodded my understanding, and we got to work. The first thing she did was list a short number of words that would form the basis of our teachings. We began with ten common words, none of which should prove alien to the chameleon: “hunt”, “eat”, “drink”, “attack”, “hide”, “sleep”, “move”, “music”, “come” and “stay”.  For each word, Naevys guided my hand in creating a visual image for each word that my companion would be able to understand. “Drink”, for instance, would be an image of the chameleon lapping water from the relevant place. No rocket science here - but the real grind would be two-fold: Using the same images for the same words over and over again, forming the base of a language, and slowly expanding our vocabulary. In addition, I was to say the words out loud every time as well - his hearing was pretty bad, but it should not in itself prove a limit to his learning the meaning of spoken words. Once we’d developed a basic vocabulary of maybe a hundred “words” (sure sounded like a lot to me, but Naevys insisted that was less than your average two-year old) we’d expand to not only the vocabulary but also the possibilities for using images to replace modulation, tone and even punctuation. According to her, if we managed all this and the chameleon and I still got along fine, our vocabulary would start expanding by itself, and the only limit would be our tenacity and natural abilities.

I thanked her profusely, and insisted on getting started right away with the violin. I probably should be getting on with more important stuff, but her company and personality invigorated me, and truth be told, she was easy enough on the eye that I was in no hurry. We went over the basics - boring, but necessary. Positioning, hand grip, proper posture, how to hold the bow. Every single part of these, if learned wrong, would be able to ruin any learning before we even got started. Fortunately though, we could skip all the information on proper equipment maintenance and tuning - there were advantages to being in a virtual world. Then the basics became slightly more involving. How to properly apply the bow. How to make a note (without starting in on the chords) ring true. Controlling finger pressure. Then onwards.

Naevys was a wonderful student. Attentive, quick on the uptake and with fast, agile hands. When she focused, her normally distracted nature disappeared, and she was downright intense in her focus. She was also furiously distracting. Watching her heart-shaped face fully engrossed in the attempt to play her first D Major scale flawlessly with a wayward red blonde lock of hair trying its best to divert her attention - well, let’s just say that I had my troubles keeping my own focus. 

I don’t know how much time passed, but we were approaching noon, as I called a halt to the session. “I’ve got one more thing in mind before we stop, but if you keep it up with the scales for at least a day or two, it should prove a good basis for our next session. Now, do you mind if I invite my companion?” 

“Not at all.”

I tried out my new “come” command out - a mental image of the chameleon walking towards me, where I was standing. To egg him on, I also included the image for “music”, and then explained the next part to Naevys. Meant more as a form of diversion than a learning tool, it was also intended as a way of showing her that you could form a lot of music with little need for fancy embellishments and finger work. Basically, I asked her to play simple chords on her flute, and I would try to respond with the same chord as fast as possible. Then she’d choose a new one, which I’d replicate and so forth, increasing the speed little by little. The end result became, just as I’d hoped, silly, entertaining and just the tiniest bit educational. Naevys started slowly, testing me out at a low, low pace, and I matched her flawlessly. She slowly increased the pace, and I responded in kind. Before long, her fingers flew over the flute as she played a simple little ditty, and I struggled to keep up and interpret what she was playing at the same time. I made tons of errors - especially when she trapped me, taking the tune in a different direction from what I expected and causing my entire melody to fall apart. I couldn’t help laughing along with her as I saw the mischievous smile on her face. She made nice afterwards, and we finished with one of the local tunes, played slowly, and I made an effort to play clearly and allow her to recognize the chords repeated on the violin.

When we were done, she stretched, “Aah, I needed that. Too much seriousness lately - you are a welcome diversion.”

“I’ve enjoyed myself too - not many people around here value music the way you do Naevys. I do believe that we need to get going, however. My friend’s empty stomach is starting to intrude in my head, and it’s getting to be distracting.”

“Take care of him - and yourself.” She moved up to me and grabbed both my arms. “And please take great care to pay attention to each other - those who form a tight-knit bond early tend to learn faster.”

I assured her I’d do my utmost, and we took off.

My companion didn’t pay much attention to me, however - his mind was entirely focused on a nest of eggs he’d spotted from his location in the top of the three oaks, and he aimed unerringly at a smaller tree in the distance. When we reached it, he disappeared into the foliage, and I tried my best not to focus too hard on the munching that ensued, focusing instead on finding the right name.

The first names that came to mind were the horrible type of punny pet names you’d hear from people with no sense of humor - and Chertog, presumably. No thank you. No Karma, Chameleonardo Da Vinci or Chamillionaire here. I also didn’t feel like a regular name - Bob and Steve just lacked any sort of gravity. Ultimately, my new companion deserved to decide for himself and I started talking out loud. A few minutes later, he descended from the tree again, and I had confirmed that he was either supremely uninterested in my ramblings or I had yet to stumble upon the perfect name. I’d gone over all the cool dragon, serpent and lizard names I could come up with and was still a bit hurt that he wasn’t going to be the next Valerion. Snapping my fingers, I tried to dig deep into the depths of my memory. “Poll, perhaps? He was a lizard too, but….ok, no. Then maybe we need something a tad older - more gravity.” I scratched my head in befuddlement, before blurting out: “Apep.” He swiveled his head towards me, whether from the sudden outburst or actual interest was hard to tell, but it was the first time he had reacted. I continued: “Yeah, Apep. Old Egyptian god, they called him the Serpent of the Nile - pretty wicked - well, more like evil, actually. The God of Chaos too and supposed to eat the world or something along that line.” My prattling died out as his head turned back, and he snatched up another fly. “Hrm. So maybe it wasn’t the evil lizard god part you enjoyed. How about something that sounds similar - Apollos? No – damn, I liked that one. Azrael? Auriel? Atlas?" At the last one, he opened his mouth wide, showing off his sharp teeth, and the bond carried a message of approval and joy. I got to my feet and walked closer. "Atlas, you say? Carrying the world on your shoulders and all that? A bit melodramatic, but I definitely approve.."

I got down on one knee and stared him straight in the eye, taking great care to project nothing but approval and kinship. “Atlas. I am very glad to have met you. Now, how would you like to go get stronger so we can take on the world together?”