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Post by Glide Heart on Apr 17, 2014 18:49:06 GMT -5
Glide rolled her eyes at his stubbornness and complied. She would have to take another shot at the Griffon. She folded her wings and charged forward once again toward her griffon counterpart. A straight on approach would more then likely end again in her flying backwards with another part of her body to nurse later but she had no other choice. A side attack wouldn't work seeing as how he would just turn and face her. She also didn't have the element of surprise or an over head advantage over him.
She was getting angry thus she would put more power into her hit using her anger to fuel her. she continued running toward her opponent and slammed into him with her body, moving her head to the side the hit him with her shoulder. Also instead of trying to wrestle him which would put her at a terrible disadvantage she instead aimed for his left front leg to push it from under him. Then she swung a right hook for a body shot on his left side aiming to crack or bruise a rib.
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Post by Red Charge on Apr 17, 2014 19:02:00 GMT -5
Glide's body slam landed perfectly, but the griffon, well prepared for it, absorbed it nicely. As the pegasus moved to deliver a hook the griffon's talons shot towards her head, digging into her mane viciously and pulling her face straight into his knee. At that point the sparring session was over for her, all she could see was stars and her body gave collapsing from the blinding flash of pain. The griffon placed a paw on her head in dominance, further humiliating the defeated pony.
By the time she was able to recover, the rest of the griffons were already gone and she was left to her own devices, her nose and mouth were bleeding and her entire body was in pain, her muscles protested at her every move and some seemed to have stiffened up to an almost rigor mortis state while she was out. She found a note stuffed roughly beneath her wing saying Avitus was below decks waiting for her and to come directly to him as soon as she was up and about. The throbbing pain in her skull had not subsided and focused thought took many seconds more than usual to kick in. What was the point of that sort of training?
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Post by Glide Heart on Apr 17, 2014 19:13:47 GMT -5
After reading the note she groaned and crumpled it up throwing it to the side. She had trouble getting up and once she did she searched for her bag to be sure it was there. She saw it to the side where she had left it and limped over there. She had time to clean herself up before presenting herself to her commanding officer didn't she? Her bones and joints ached and her head was still spinning. Going through the bag she took a tonic to help dull the pain and cleaned off some of the blood around her nose and mouth. She rubbed her shoulder for a moment and then get up again, taking her bag with her and heading below deck. Her tight muscles seemingly groaned like rusty metal as she walked. What happened to never resting. She thought making her way to Avitus' quarters.
She reached the door and knocked on in waiting for a reply to tell her to come in. She didn't want to be nagged at for a poor performance at the moment but she would never be so disrespectful to a commanding officer. So she prepared herself for what laid before her inside Avitus' quarters taking a deep breath. She felt and looked like death so hopefully Avitus wouldn't mind her not looking proper when summoned right after recovering from an unconscious state.
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Post by Red Charge on Apr 17, 2014 19:31:29 GMT -5
Avitus' office was large, but not as large as one would expect from a testosterone filled musclehead like Avitus seemed to be. As he opened the door she noticed it was very spartan and other than what appeared to be a trophy shelf, containing monster and pirate trophies, it seemed there were no other decorations there. Avitus' desk was messy and filled with pages and large sketches of things Glide couldn't make heads or tails of. The amount of talon-written notes he had been working on before her arrival was staggering. Was he working on something new?
"Ah good, you woke up." He greeted her as she approached giving her a good hug and patting on her back. "Most recruits quit at that point. It's not easy being broken. But if I don't break you, I can't remake you. You went through the first and most important lesson of them all. Pain is necessary, therefore it must not be feared. Trust me, there are few enemies who could as easily inflict so much damage to you without killing you. Learning not to fear pain is the first step in becoming a warrior. A doctor who does not fear pain will not be afraid to administer aid to the wounded on a battlefield under fire." He said, pulling her into his office and setting her on a chair which while it was not the best looking was actually rather comfortable. Certainly more comfortable than the cold deck floor.
"You don't have any living quarters on this ship and quite frankly if you do hang around here too much you'll be expected, like any other soldier, be they male or female to become a part of the little brotherhood we have here. Needless to say it will not be appropriate considering your marital status and therefore I'd like you to go back to Canterlot and regain your bearings. Meet us at sunrise sharp on the same cliff rock we met today and we'll commence diving exercises. Dismissed."
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Post by Glide Heart on Apr 17, 2014 19:52:19 GMT -5
Glide thought that this was going to be a horrible experience, but at the slightly painful hug she felt just confused. Was her commanding officer really hugging her? Hearing him talk about why exactly she just went through that she felt much better. So that is why she was just put through that. To be broken down and rebuilt much like the city was. A small grin appeared on her face hearing she made it further than most recruits did, and again when he mentioned her practice.
The chair was nice and she melting slightly at the feel. The deck was indeed cold and uncomfortable she should know she was passed on it for what a few hours? Being told she was too return to Canterlot made her feel just as good. She didn't want to face those griffons again after that. She saluted Avitus and left his quarters closing the door behind her. Flying was painful but seeing as she was high in the air she had no choice. she flew to a refuge camp since her hospital was now ruble she had no were else to go. She retired to a cot she was assigned and collapsed falling asleep almost instantly.
Glide woke up bright and early to return to the cliff. She was bruised and still sore. She took more pain killers before leaving but she left her bags a the refuge this time. What ever she needed she could get after her training and she didn't want to lose the only things she had left. She did however keep her knife and her coat on her like she had the day before. She sat down and waiting for someone to come and get her again.
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Post by Red Charge on Apr 18, 2014 16:24:19 GMT -5
When she arrived, Avitus and his griffons were already on the cliff edge, lined up. "You're late, but I might not have clarified. Sunrise means BEFORE the sun is rising, not AFTER." The stern griffon said, "Take your place." He gestured at an empty spot near one of the griffons, "This is dive practice, now you'll learn how to dive properly, utilizing gravity to the max and pulling up with the least amount of effort at the last possible second. When I give the order, jump. I want you to pull up only when you're about to crash. Pull up too soon and we'll put you back in the first stage of training, I'm sure you remember what that was."
The Griffon walked the line, inspecting the marines, when he passed Glide, he corrected her stance, pushing her rump and front down, putting the two of them in a rather awkward pose. Once she was at the correct stance he moved back. "You may not be jumping high but you're still going to leap down. Keep crouched, get a strong grip on the ground and then JUMP." At that he gave out a sharp whistle and as one the griffons around Glide leapt off the cliff, somehow managing to stick near the cliff edge as they did so and plummet downwards.
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Post by Glide Heart on Apr 18, 2014 17:47:52 GMT -5
Her muscles groaned at her holding the awkward pose she was positioned into on the edge of the cliff. Once she jumped and joined the griffons in a free fall the wind blew her mane back and into her face. It was nice and cool but the speed made the wind sting her face and her ears ring with the sound of air moving over them. Glides heart pounded at the adrenaline of falling down hugging the wall of the cliff. Pulling up to soon would lead her back to that awful ordeal the day before. Her muscles were still sore, so instead of using her wits and stopping now she kept her wings folded as long as possible.
Using her judgement she waited until the last possible second to unfold her wings and pull up. The griffons would also tell her when to pull up by when they did, and being smaller then them she had more time before hitting the ground. When she pulled up her wings strained and she gasped at how close she was to smacking into the ground. All she had left to do as she followed the griffons was hope it wasn't to soon.
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Post by Red Charge on Apr 18, 2014 18:00:09 GMT -5
However the griffons' dive was much faster than her own, they plummeted like a lead weight of at least a ton, going farther and farther away from her, for a terrifying moment she thought they had crashed on the ground below, but she saw them all pull up and glide, their paws and talons scraping the grass as they went. There's no way they could have pulled up at that speed so close to the ground... no way! But they did. They were well practiced and in perfect form. She almost felt like she was floating compared to their gravity plunge. When she finally pulled up she tried to be as close to the ground as possible but had no real way of knowing whether or not she was early or not.
Then of course came the worst part, flying back up. the griffons beat their powerful wings like it was no big thing and flew up in a single column, landing in a line again at the end of the cliff. By the time Glide Heart had flown up there, they were all impatiently waiting for her.
"No good. Your form is all wrong, they don't teach you ponies how to dive in flight school? Keep those wings tight against your body, hooves back, snout front, tail aligned with your spine, lean your weight forwards towards your shoulders. That's how you dive, not that hullabaloo you just did. When you pull up you deploy all of your appendages and go with the wind, let it carry you, don't go against the motion.
As Glide walked in line he once again corrected her stance, but this time Glide noticed some of the other griffons were not too pleased about the personal attention she was getting from the commander.
Then he moved on to praise the griffons who did perfectly, commending them for mastering the diving form. Glide Heart could tell what kind of connection he had to his troops, they all looked at him with a certain kind of admiration... the kind of eyes reserved just for him. It was cleared that they all loved him, but it was also something far beyond just that.
He must have been quite the admirable griffon to have gotten so many griffons to look up to him in such a manner.
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Post by Glide Heart on Apr 18, 2014 18:11:54 GMT -5
Glide tilted her head watching at how these griffons acted towards their commander. IT seems as though they were his children with the way they acted. Training with the griffons was turning out to be more and more surprising then she thought. Her muscles still groaned as she stood there waiting for him to give another command and thought on the advice Avitus had given her. Avitus seemed like no other commanding officer she has ever had. He was much more friendly towards his troops. This left her wondering what was this "brotherhood" these griffons had here? Also, why would her marital status make a difference with being in this so called "brotherhood" If it was just a brotherhood why would being married get in the way?
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Post by Red Charge on Apr 18, 2014 18:15:56 GMT -5
Avitus was looking her straight in the eye this time before he called, "Jump."
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Post by Glide Heart on Apr 18, 2014 18:27:28 GMT -5
It took Glide a moment to register what he said but once did she threw off her coat and jumped off the edge of the cliff and plummeted towards the ground below. She pointed her snout forward, hooves back and aligned her tail with her spine. Most importantly she tucked her wings tight into her sides and leaned forward into her shoulders. Just as Avitus had told her. She tucked her ears and enjoyed the feeling again of the wind hitting her face and making her tail flap behind her. The roaring of the wind in her flat ears and ruffling her fur.
After free falling for what seemed to be forever she was approaching the ground and quickly too. Taking Avitus' advise again she waited until the last possible second and pulled up. She deployed all of her appendages and rode the wind rather then straining her wings to stop a fall. She glided and swung around flapping her wings to return to the top of the cliff. She hadn't payed attention to the griffons around her as she was preforming the dive and focusing more on the advice Avitus had given her to fix her dive.
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Post by Red Charge on Apr 18, 2014 18:36:03 GMT -5
When she landed, Glide noticed she was in the middle of the griffon column rather than the last like last time. The griffons lined up on the cliff side again and this time Glide got to pick her spot right next to Avitus. The commander waited for the rest of the griffons to arrive before placing a talon on her back and praising her.
"You're just a rookie, but you performed a nearly perfect dive, pulled up a bit early, but that's to be expected when going down at such a speed for the first time." He complimented, "Which goes to show that when you put your mind to something, you get it done. See that griffons? This pony here managed a near perfect dive on her second try." As he said that, Glide noticed that many of the other griffons were looking at her with jealousy, a female one he praised on the last dive turned her eyes away purposely, as though harrumphing. It was definitely something to hear Avitus say words of praise. It was obvious he did not dispense them freely, in fact, she's hardly heard him speak positively on anything without anyone having to go through a nightmare to earn it.
And she has earned not only words of praise, but a pat on the back. Now all she had to do was continue like this for the rest of the practice.
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Post by Glide Heart on Apr 18, 2014 18:44:01 GMT -5
Glide felt overjoyed by the fact she had pulled off an almost perfect dive and on her second try! Today was going much better than the day before. A pat on the back with praise to boot she felt very proud of herself. Until she noticed the jealousy of the griffons around her. Why were they acting so much like children? Jealous of someones achievement when they had mastered the same skill long ago? This only left her feeling more confused about what was going on with this ship and crew, yet she felt it was best not to pry. She was doing so well she didn't want to upset her current good standing with Avitus.
She waited patiently until she was told what to do next standing in attention. Her muscles groaned again as she stood in the awkward pose she had been shown. Eventually her muscles would tone up and get used to things like this.
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Post by Red Charge on Apr 18, 2014 18:50:21 GMT -5
They spent hours doing just that, diving over and over and over again. She did not get another praise the entire training session. She had already pulled the dive off almost correctly, she would not get another praise unless she did it truly exceptionally and she knew that. Avitus was hard to please, but it was worth it just to hear his praise at the end. Glide was tired long before any of the other griffons were and found herself thudding against the Whitetail Valley ground before long, unable to make the flight back up. No one came to pick her up, or to see why she hadn't gone up. It was such a shame, she was doing so good until then too. She may not have been praised again but she hadn't been scolded either, but now unable to climb back after a dive? Avitus would think she was weak. The late noon sun was already sleepily moving towards the west and every muscle in Glide's body hurt.
Were the griffons still waiting for her on the cliff edge, or had they moved on? What was she going to do if they left to continue their training without her? She bet all the other griffons were happy she was down here so they could get all of Avitus' attention and praise. They didn't seem to feel that way towards each other however, perhaps it was because she was an outsider?
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Post by Glide Heart on Apr 18, 2014 18:58:45 GMT -5
Glide looked around trying to find another way up the cliff feeling worried that she had been left behind. She was only in her second day of training how could they expect her to marathon train like they had become accustomed too? The quietness of the base of the cliff had also given her a moment to think about what was going on with this crew. She couldn't shake it from her mind. Jealousy in griffons so toned and focused like these? Craving attention from their commanding officer like a yearling and its parents? What exactly was going on here? Maybe she was just imagining things and this was actually normal in a griffon crew after all this was the first time she had been on a ship with griffons. Or around them for extended lengths of time.
Glide decided that all she could do was take a break to catch her breath and a wait to regain some energy before making her way back up the cliff. Laying in the cool dirt and looking up at the cloud filled sky made her feel slightly better. Taking a minute to sit down was always the highlight of her days in the hospital so she enjoyed her time as she waiting to catch her breath.
Upon catching her breath and getting some energy in her and made her way back up the cliff slowly but surely. Her wing muscles screamed as she made her way up and her breathing was rapid and hard.When she finally stumbled onto the cliff ledge she struggled to stay up and lifted her head to look around for the griffons and Avitus.
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