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Studying Midge Hunters
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Studying Midge Hunters
Posted 08-29-2019 00:45:46
(Just a side note, a lot of this is headcanon stuff relating to my Demon Hunters Family line I had on the old site and now this one. I've used what lore we've got for these guys so I'm kinda filling in blanks. I'll probably add more when I feel the urge to write a bit. Think of this as a somewhat linear timeline of what "mage me" would be doing)
She stared at the beast a few meters away. It… no she, snarled and flexed unable to move. Tallow was well practiced in her “Enchanted Chains” spell, moving faster than the Midge Hunter before her mage. The mage in question kept her eyes locked with the animal she had recently acquired, yet felt an odd sense of deja vu.
She had seen the occasional egg in the creche, though more often than not it was passed over by the other mages… occasionally with scorn. These creatures were notorious for their diets and behavior. Though, Onyx thought, it’s possible those could be slight exaggerations stemming from the fact the common prey item of the Midge Hunter was well… Midge Sprites and similarly small Draco themselves. Which was interesting in the fact that Midge Hunters have little to no natural magic to speak of. Nor wings either. No, these animals relied on pack tactics to down prey. In fact in the wild she often observed from a distance what appeared to be family groups. There is always a balance in nature, predator and prey. Sometimes it isn’t the nicest, but some might argue against some of the other draco people raise.
Still, it was legal to own and raise, even breed them. If they were truly regulated, then they wouldn’t be readily available in the creche. So taking a few of the “Wild” ones and working potentially breeding a more calmer line of them shouldn’t be too difficult. Thus the current predicament.
The Hunter relaxes, takes in a huff of air. Onyx take a few steps, watching the body language of what she will attempt to form a Bond with. After a few rinse and repeats of waiting until the Hunter is relaxed in order to move closer; she finally arrives close enough to touch her. She glances over to Tallow, reaffirming the chains are strong. She carefully and slowly lays her right hand on the top of the snout, the Hunter inhales. The Bond forms, albeit very weakly. Almost as if the smallest force could snap it like thread.
After making sure it is still there, Onyx retracts her hand and turns to Tallow. The Chains shudder, but hold. Tallow is there in an instant, taking position between her mage and the threat. “Hey now, it’s alright. My fault for turning my back and taking my eyes off her. Besides, the Bond is pretty weak and this is practically the first interaction I had with her.” Tallow almost gives an Eyeroll, impressive for something without eyes. “ ‘Sides, we’ve still got to move her to the Grounds I’ve prepped. You think you can fly and hold the chains at the same time?” Tallow almost gives a shrug, but seems confident. “Well, it actually isn’t that far. What’s important is that we get her at least INSIDE the boundaries set up, that way if she breaks free from the chains she can’t go anywhere.” Onyx looks back at the Hunter and grins. Oh was this going to be a long day.
She stared at the beast a few meters away. It… no she, snarled and flexed unable to move. Tallow was well practiced in her “Enchanted Chains” spell, moving faster than the Midge Hunter before her mage. The mage in question kept her eyes locked with the animal she had recently acquired, yet felt an odd sense of deja vu.
She had seen the occasional egg in the creche, though more often than not it was passed over by the other mages… occasionally with scorn. These creatures were notorious for their diets and behavior. Though, Onyx thought, it’s possible those could be slight exaggerations stemming from the fact the common prey item of the Midge Hunter was well… Midge Sprites and similarly small Draco themselves. Which was interesting in the fact that Midge Hunters have little to no natural magic to speak of. Nor wings either. No, these animals relied on pack tactics to down prey. In fact in the wild she often observed from a distance what appeared to be family groups. There is always a balance in nature, predator and prey. Sometimes it isn’t the nicest, but some might argue against some of the other draco people raise.
Still, it was legal to own and raise, even breed them. If they were truly regulated, then they wouldn’t be readily available in the creche. So taking a few of the “Wild” ones and working potentially breeding a more calmer line of them shouldn’t be too difficult. Thus the current predicament.
The Hunter relaxes, takes in a huff of air. Onyx take a few steps, watching the body language of what she will attempt to form a Bond with. After a few rinse and repeats of waiting until the Hunter is relaxed in order to move closer; she finally arrives close enough to touch her. She glances over to Tallow, reaffirming the chains are strong. She carefully and slowly lays her right hand on the top of the snout, the Hunter inhales. The Bond forms, albeit very weakly. Almost as if the smallest force could snap it like thread.
After making sure it is still there, Onyx retracts her hand and turns to Tallow. The Chains shudder, but hold. Tallow is there in an instant, taking position between her mage and the threat. “Hey now, it’s alright. My fault for turning my back and taking my eyes off her. Besides, the Bond is pretty weak and this is practically the first interaction I had with her.” Tallow almost gives an Eyeroll, impressive for something without eyes. “ ‘Sides, we’ve still got to move her to the Grounds I’ve prepped. You think you can fly and hold the chains at the same time?” Tallow almost gives a shrug, but seems confident. “Well, it actually isn’t that far. What’s important is that we get her at least INSIDE the boundaries set up, that way if she breaks free from the chains she can’t go anywhere.” Onyx looks back at the Hunter and grins. Oh was this going to be a long day.
Posted 09-06-2019 23:20:28
It's fun to see someone else writing FoM fanfiction! I look forward to seeing the further adventures of Onyx, long-suffering Tallow, and the midge hunters. Training a midge hunter to be a literal demon hunter is definitely going to be an adventure.
Need site currency? Playing with my hundreds of companions here can earn you a decent amount of both blue stones and reactor stones. Companions may be played with once per hour (total, not per user). If nothing shows up, check back later.
Still on AO3 here - Forest of Mirrors, Dragon Cave, MagiStream, Jelle's Marble Runs, and original fiction.
Still on AO3 here - Forest of Mirrors, Dragon Cave, MagiStream, Jelle's Marble Runs, and original fiction.
Posted 09-10-2019 11:31:57
(It's kinda remake of a Family I made on the old site, going off the fact that young demons copycat, and the demon are looks like messed up dragons. I figured it would be interesting to see if given the right stimulation you could cut down on bad behavior by giving it a different outlet. Also now with the fact that creature stables aren't just in the castle I've got a new place to "put" these Midge Hunters. The whole thing is going to be around trying to demonized the Hunters a bit; Onyx sees them as animals, they just have ah.... interesting diets. But like all animals, they have their place in the world, even without ties to any element. But of course you have to have fed them something else before they grew up, so they would have been fed something else alongside the demon hunting. It's going to be an effort in working with already existing behavior (not unlike zoos and their animals) and trying to encourage better behavior that works with them, not against. )
Posted 01-15-2021 21:39:24
(Been a while, huh? again, this is my own head-canon revolving around the domestication of a species of dragon eating dragons. Irl lots of other animals eat animals related to them, think hawks eating robins and the like. Or fish eating fish. I figured I should try and explain their living arrangements.)
Her area was secured by magical and natural means. She had enlisted the help of both earth and water mages in her task, though it took lots of convincing. Only after did she mention how far and remote the location was, did she get her help. A field far from castle grounds was sectioned off with a deep moat about as wide as a 50 feet, with a 15 foot wall on the opposite side, smoothed and enchanted to remain that way over time. This was used to prevent escapees as should any manage to jump across, they would not be able to climb up and out of their territory. The moat itself wasn't as deep as it was wide, and had a buffer of water inside to prevent most injuries to the animals. Several sections lowered into the moat to allow any trapped animals escape back into the Grounds. Inside the grounds themselves is grassland with some wooded areas to provide shelter and shade. Small ponds near the center encourage residents to stay away from the moat. The woods themselves are a good distance away from the moat as well, to further discourage jumping attempts. Rock formations near the ponds themselves can be used to bask and climb, with dens of adequate size being provided in them.
Onyx visits the grounds frequently, it was particularly difficult to encourage the new wild residents on to the new diet, but she found that live feed of similar animals was useful. After all, if regular dragons could eat cattle, it was likely these would too. She didn't want to starve the animals, but regulations would not allow her to feed these animals their "proper" diet. Never mind of the ethical issues that would arise from these animals needing to hunt live prey. The current theory in her mind is these animals are not scavengers and could get sick from rotting meat thus the avoidance of even freshly killed and prepare meals. She hopes the newer generations would be quicker and easier on taking in the new feed. For now, she observed her starting pair. Neither have warmed up much to her, but she doesn't mind that much. The initial ones might never warm up to her, but she hopes she can at least work with them instead of chaining them up each time she needs to over look the enclosure.
Her area was secured by magical and natural means. She had enlisted the help of both earth and water mages in her task, though it took lots of convincing. Only after did she mention how far and remote the location was, did she get her help. A field far from castle grounds was sectioned off with a deep moat about as wide as a 50 feet, with a 15 foot wall on the opposite side, smoothed and enchanted to remain that way over time. This was used to prevent escapees as should any manage to jump across, they would not be able to climb up and out of their territory. The moat itself wasn't as deep as it was wide, and had a buffer of water inside to prevent most injuries to the animals. Several sections lowered into the moat to allow any trapped animals escape back into the Grounds. Inside the grounds themselves is grassland with some wooded areas to provide shelter and shade. Small ponds near the center encourage residents to stay away from the moat. The woods themselves are a good distance away from the moat as well, to further discourage jumping attempts. Rock formations near the ponds themselves can be used to bask and climb, with dens of adequate size being provided in them.
Onyx visits the grounds frequently, it was particularly difficult to encourage the new wild residents on to the new diet, but she found that live feed of similar animals was useful. After all, if regular dragons could eat cattle, it was likely these would too. She didn't want to starve the animals, but regulations would not allow her to feed these animals their "proper" diet. Never mind of the ethical issues that would arise from these animals needing to hunt live prey. The current theory in her mind is these animals are not scavengers and could get sick from rotting meat thus the avoidance of even freshly killed and prepare meals. She hopes the newer generations would be quicker and easier on taking in the new feed. For now, she observed her starting pair. Neither have warmed up much to her, but she doesn't mind that much. The initial ones might never warm up to her, but she hopes she can at least work with them instead of chaining them up each time she needs to over look the enclosure.
Posted 01-22-2021 15:25:30
She felt bad about this, but she knew that creatures react best to their mages when hatched from the egg or with the mage being present at birth. It was not hard to find the den, she even managed to get within a meter of the entrance before she found resistance. She had spent the past few months building trust with these animals and while they never let her touch them, her starting pair were receptive to simple commands and outside of training would tolerate her presence. Talon and Fang both stared her down, snarling low. She frowned, and slowly back away, she didn't want to break this fragile trust with how much she worked. Backing away a good distance, she felt comfortable turning to Tallow.
The Arcane Dragon looked behind her, wary of the potential threat these small drakes could pull. "I suppose, I could try again tomorrow, during feeding since they both will be occupied. I'm taking you with of course." said Onyx. Tallow nodded, half approving half concerned.
~
True to her word, the next day she released a cow into the range attracting the attention of the two residents. As they chased their prey, Onyx and Tallow made their way back to the den. One issue Onyx found was she would be in a fairly vulnerable position to retrieve any eggs. Due to the Midge Hunters' size, they have fairly small burrows compared to larger drakes. She crawled into the den leaving only her feet poking out of the opening as an indicator. She could pull them in and crouch, but she figured it would be easier to crawl. It did not take much crawling, as her fumbling hands pressed onto rough texture. She cupped the item in her hands carefully, feeling around for more. She found none and proceeded to back out of the cave into the coils of Tallow. In her grasp was the first egg born of her two hunters. It sparkled in the mid-day sun, somewhat familiar to those found in the Creche.
After securing her "prize" Onyx mounted Tallow and the two left the Hunting Grounds by air. She had high hopes for this egg, though she knew her challenges were just beginning.
The Arcane Dragon looked behind her, wary of the potential threat these small drakes could pull. "I suppose, I could try again tomorrow, during feeding since they both will be occupied. I'm taking you with of course." said Onyx. Tallow nodded, half approving half concerned.
~
True to her word, the next day she released a cow into the range attracting the attention of the two residents. As they chased their prey, Onyx and Tallow made their way back to the den. One issue Onyx found was she would be in a fairly vulnerable position to retrieve any eggs. Due to the Midge Hunters' size, they have fairly small burrows compared to larger drakes. She crawled into the den leaving only her feet poking out of the opening as an indicator. She could pull them in and crouch, but she figured it would be easier to crawl. It did not take much crawling, as her fumbling hands pressed onto rough texture. She cupped the item in her hands carefully, feeling around for more. She found none and proceeded to back out of the cave into the coils of Tallow. In her grasp was the first egg born of her two hunters. It sparkled in the mid-day sun, somewhat familiar to those found in the Creche.
After securing her "prize" Onyx mounted Tallow and the two left the Hunting Grounds by air. She had high hopes for this egg, though she knew her challenges were just beginning.
Posted 10-23-2021 00:11:05
(Again, been a stretch between updates. In fairness this is more a place to hash out lore than to be a completed story. Still, here's something.)
Simple names fit best, made commands all the shorter when a creature's attention could very easily be distracted. Still, Claw was not like his parents. He had the same instincts, but not quite the same drive. He was the first the breeding project produced. Domestication admittedly takes time, time and careful selection of individuals. That being said, the personality of Claw was both a boon and detriment. Claw was less excited by the same stimuli as his parents, but was less responsive to commands. Still, he was taught like his parents. Onyx knew that even with training, it was only a matter of time before Claw would seek out the open fields to hunt an area seemingly rich with his natural prey. So with a somewhat heavy heart and a healthy amount of nerves she set off with the hatchling on Tallow to the Grounds. She needed to reintroduce the offspring to his parents, so that they could take care of him where she could not.
As they made their way over, Onyx thought about the eggs she had seen in the creche. It would be simpler to raise them from eggs there, than to catch adults and train them. While she was selective in this program, there needed to be some genetic diversity for the health of future Hunters. After Claw was established, she would work on saving eggs from the creche.
Simple names fit best, made commands all the shorter when a creature's attention could very easily be distracted. Still, Claw was not like his parents. He had the same instincts, but not quite the same drive. He was the first the breeding project produced. Domestication admittedly takes time, time and careful selection of individuals. That being said, the personality of Claw was both a boon and detriment. Claw was less excited by the same stimuli as his parents, but was less responsive to commands. Still, he was taught like his parents. Onyx knew that even with training, it was only a matter of time before Claw would seek out the open fields to hunt an area seemingly rich with his natural prey. So with a somewhat heavy heart and a healthy amount of nerves she set off with the hatchling on Tallow to the Grounds. She needed to reintroduce the offspring to his parents, so that they could take care of him where she could not.
As they made their way over, Onyx thought about the eggs she had seen in the creche. It would be simpler to raise them from eggs there, than to catch adults and train them. While she was selective in this program, there needed to be some genetic diversity for the health of future Hunters. After Claw was established, she would work on saving eggs from the creche.
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