by Pedro Urvi
“Today we’re going to take another big step,” Gisli announced.
Immediately Lasgol began to feel nervous.
“A big step?”
“Yes. Today we’re going to start practicing attack and defense with Ona. Familiars protect their Whisperers from the enemy, and they have to be taught to do that. It’s important that they learn not only how to do it, but also when.”
“I see.”
“The techniques I’m going to teach you, and which we’ll be practicing, are complex and they’ll take time, but once Ona learns them, she’ll be a formidable ally to have at your side. Especially in a year from now, when she’s a fully-grown adult. She’ll be able to kill prey three times her size, so she’ll be able to bring down a Wild One of the Ice and even a Semi-Giant. Panthers have an amazing ability to leap.”
“Yes, her haunches are getting stronger every day.”
“Bringing down a quarry will be one of the commands we’re going to teach her.”
“Very well, Master. I’ll be the quarry.”
Gisli shook his head. “She’s your familiar. She has to obey you, not attack you.”
“So, what do we do?”
“I’ll be ‘it’.”
“But, Master, that wouldn’t be right. Suppose something goes wrong?”
“Don’t worry, I’m tougher than I look.”
Lasgol was not entirely convinced. Gisli must be fairly elderly. His body was very well-looked-after and fit, but the impact of a wild animal...
“Master...”
“You’ll have to trust me.”
Lasgol resigned himself. “All right,” he said, trusting that nothing bad would happen to the Elder.
“Good. Call her.”
Lasgol whistled to Ona, who was lying on the snow. “Ona, here,” he said, and tapped his thigh with two fingers.
Ona got to her feet and obeyed at once.
“The command is ‘Ona, bring down’. Repeat the command the way I’ve taught you, so that she knows it’s a new one. Then you carry out the action so that she knows what she’s supposed to do. Take your time. It’ll be difficult.”
Lasgol nodded. He squatted down in front of Ona so that his eyes were level with hers. He put his hands beside them so that she could only look at him, then gave five shrill whistles. It was the signal to let her know he was going to ask her to do something new. She stayed perfectly still. Previously she had tended to twitch, particularly at the beginning, as if indicating that she had had enough of learning any more new things. But lately she had stopped protesting and now even stayed still as a statue, which amazed him. You could almost have said that she was eager to learn new things.
Ona chirped. It was her way of saying she was ready. Lasgol gave the order:
“Ona, bring down.”
She chirped again.
“Ona, bring down,” Lasgol repeated, this time more slowly and sharply.
The panther gave another chirp.
“Ona, bring down,” he said for the third time, this time still more sharply and urgently.
Ona chirped again, as though in acceptance.
“Now you have to show her the action, and she has to understand that it’s not a game. So you must really charge at me.”
“Master... I don’t think...”
“Do what I tell you to do.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Give the order and bring me down.”
Lasgol sighed. “Ona, bring down,” he said, then leapt to his feet and raced towards the Elder. Two steps from him, he jumped and brought him down. They both rolled over to break their fall.
“Master?”
“Don’t worry, I’m okay,” Gisli said. He stood up and went back to the spot where he had been standing before. “We’ll repeat that.”
Lasgol went back to Ona.
“Ready?”
“Go ahead.”
Lasgol gave the order, and once again raced to jump and bring Gisli down.
“Once again.”
Lasgol obeyed the order.
Gisli went back to his position. “Now it’s Ona’s turn.”
“Are you sure, Master?”
“Yes. Go ahead.”
Lasgol looked at Ona and gave the order. “Ona, bring down.” He pointed to Gisli.
The panther looked at Lasgol, then at Gisli, and shot off. With a prodigious leap, she brought down the Elder, who was sent rolling ten paces across the ground by the impact.
Lasgol began to go to his aid. “Master!”
The Elder raised his hand. “Stop!”
Lasgol stopped in his tracks.
“You’d just confuse her. Don’t help me. She followed the order, so reward her.”
Lasgol went over to Ona and stroked her head, then gave her a strip of salted meat, and Gisli went back to his initial position.
“Master... no...”
“We need to repeat it until she does it instinctively.”
“That was quite a knock...”
“I’m ready for it, don’t be too worried about me.”
Lasgol shook his head and obeyed. They repeated the command twice more, and on both occasions Ona brought Gisli down. Lasgol did not try to help him, but he could see that this last time she had hurt him. The Elder did not complain, but he found it hard to get back on his feet.
“She’s learnt it,” he said.
Lasgol seriously doubted whether the Elder would be able to withstand another charge. When Ona was fully grown, he had not the slightest doubt that she would be able to bring down an ox.
“Now we’re going to teach her to attack. We’ll be using an advanced technique. It’s complicated, and you need to bear in mind that once she’s learned, you have to be very careful not to give the command without a very good reason. A snow panther’s attack can be deadly, and even if it’s not, it can still leave after-effects. So you shouldn’t use it unless it’s a matter of great danger, or real need.”
The implications of this left Lasgol thoughtful. “I’ll do that, Master.”
“Ona is your familiar, your responsibility. She’ll only heed your commands, but you’ll need to be careful with them. Don’t put her in danger, and make sure that if you want her to attack, it’s because it’s absolutely necessary.”
“I understand, Master.”
“Good.”
“What’s the command for this?”
Gisli smiled. “Not yet, my pupil. The most natural and least traumatic way to teach her to attack is to do so in a familiar environment and situation.”
“Where?”
Gisli pointed to the forest to the south. “We’re going to go hunting in the forest.”
“Hunting?” Lasgol said in surprise.
“Yes, because during the hunt we’ll be able to teach her to attack with a command, and for her that’ll be natural. But when she attacks, she’ll always go for the kill. That’s what you have to remember.”
Lasgol began to realize the responsibility involved, and the consequences.
In the forest Gisli explained the lesson while they tracked to find some good-sized quarry. They took advantage of this to get Ona to do the same, and so the hunt began. It was not long before they found the trail of an elk. Judging by the size and depth of the tracks in the snow, it must be an enormous one. Ona followed the trail, and Lasgol became aware of the lethal instinct in her. When they came to a stream, they saw the elk standing a hundred paces away. Ona stiffened. The moment had come.
“The command is ‘Ona, attack’. Teach her that.”
Lasgol crouched down in front of Ona and followed the same procedure as with the previous commands. He whistled five times, very low, so as not to frighten the elk, but loudly enough for Ona to understand the command clearly.
Lasgol pointed to the quarry with two fingers. “Ona, attack.”
Ona did not need three repeats. She understood the first time, and began to move toward the elk, going around it stealthily, with her lethal, feline eyes fixed on
it.
Lasgol watched her getting into position, approaching from behind and taking the direction of the wind into account so that the elk would not smell her coming. Her mother had taught her very well. Ten paces away, she stopped and hunched down on the snow among the snow-covered underbrush. Lasgol knew where she was, but he could not actually see her.
All of a sudden, she raced toward the elk at dazzling speed. The snow flew to either side with every step she took. She gave an impressive leap. The elk did not even know what had hit it when she brought it down with her forepaws. Before the elk could swivel around, Ona’s powerful jaws sank into its neck, while at the same time she held it down on the ground with her powerful haunches. It was all over very quickly.
“She’s a great hunter,” Gisli said. He was clearly impressed.
“That elk was a good size.”
“And she had no trouble.”
Lasgol watched the scene, in awe of Ona’s skill and strength. It had been an impressive spectacle. A great cat in her habitat, hunting a sizeable quarry.
“Now call her back.”
Lasgol whistled loudly. “Ona, here.” he ordered, and tapped his thigh twice.
The panther looked back at him, unconvinced by the command. She was looking the other way, as if it had nothing to do with her.
“It’s natural,” Gisli pointed out. “She doesn’t want to leave her catch. Her instinct and what her mother taught her tell her to stay with it and not leave it. Insist.”
Lasgol nodded and whistled again. “Ona, here,” he repeated, and tapped his right thigh.
The panther still did not look at him, as if she did not want to let him know that she understood the order.
“Insist, more forcefully.”
Lasgol called Ona again. This time he made the call sound shrill, urgent and a little annoyed.
At last Ona decided to give him her attention. She looked at him for a moment, protested with a guttural sound, and finally came to him.
Lasgol rewarded her with a caress and some salted meat.
“Now we go on teaching her. We’re going to repeat the hunt a few more times until she learns to connect the order with what she’s supposed to do.”
“Yes, Master.”
“On we go. We’ll choose another quarry.”
For two weeks they repeated the same exercises. The three of them went into forests and mountains in search of prey. They practiced with different ones until Ona knew when she was supposed to attack and when she was supposed to withdraw, regardless of whether the quarry had fallen or not. It was not easy to dominate the instincts of a great cat, but as the days went by they were both making progress. By the end of the second week he had it under control.
“What now, Master?” Lasgol asked when Gisli gave him the go-ahead.
“Now we teach her to defend you, and at that point we’ll bring Ona’s training to an end. There are more techniques that I’m going to explain so you can start teaching them to her, but there’s no time for her to learn them all now. The Proficiency Test is in a few days, and the year of training will come to an end. But remember, you’ll be able to teach her new commands, even ones you’ve created by yourself. That’s the wonderful thing about having a familiar. Your affective link will grow and you’ll both learn from one another. You’ll look after each other and protect each other until one of you dies.”
“Dies? No...”
“Life’s hard. It’s full of dangers, and the life of a Norghanian Ranger even more so. You might die in any mission. So might she.”
“I wouldn’t forgive myself if she died.”
“If you do everything in your power and it still happens, don’t feel guilty. It won’t be your hand that’s killed her but that of your enemy.”
“I won’t let that happen.”
“I understand you. She’s a real feline beauty. But if it were to happen, you can come back here and we’ll find you another familiar.”
Lasgol stared at him in confusion. “Another familiar?”
“Once you become a Beast Whisperer – if you make it, of course – you have a right to have a familiar. If yours dies, you can come here and look for another.”
“Oh... I don’t want another one. I want Ona.”
“I understand you, but you do have that option.”
Lasgol nodded. He looked into Ona’s honest turquoise eyes and her beautiful cat-face and knew that he would never want another familiar.
“Thanks, Master.”
“Now we’d better go on practicing. I still have a few things left to teach you.”
Chapter 42
These last days were proving to be very intense, and everybody was extremely nervous. The Mother Specialist had announced that the Proficiency Test would take place in a week. She had warned them in advance that the test would be a hard one, that only those who were genuinely prepared and had the talent and skills required would pass. This had caused everyone to throw themselves into their studies, faced with a test that would decide whether they became Elite Specialists or left the Shelter empty-handed, with the burden of a monumental failure to bear.
Lasgol was nervous and could not hide the fact. He did not want to fail on any account. Not because of the failure itself, which he could overcome, but because if he did it would mean losing Ona, and that would break his heart. He saw her walking on the snow in front of him, making her way with her characteristic cat-like grace.
“Sure you want to go that far?” Viggo asked unenthusiastically behind him.
“Yup, but you needn’t come with me. I can go by myself.”
“Yeah, and then have to put up with Astrid and Ingrid going on about not protecting you? I’d rather cut my tongue out.”
Lasgol stopped and turned. Viggo was following his footsteps in the snow. His hooded cloak was covered with crystal snowflakes. The storm had not moved on yet, and it was snowing heavily.
“You could stay here. There’s only the last bit left.”
“Nah, it’s my turn to babysit, and I’ll do it. I’ll come with you to the end.” He indicated Ona. “But make sure that beauty doesn’t jump at my throat.”
“She won’t attack. Unless I tell her to.”
Viggo looked at him with narrowed eyes. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“If you don’t stop arguing, I just might.”
“That’s all I needed! As if I didn’t have enough with Ingrid, Astrid and Captain Fantastic, now you’re turning against me too!”
“Nobody’s against you.”
“Yeah, sure.”
“It’s just that sometimes you’re a bit of a pain.”
“It’s all part of my charm and charisma.”
“Yeah, exactly that. Let’s go. I’m dying to see Camu.”
“Dunno why you want to see that creature. Leave him with his adopted family!”
“Because I miss him a lot. I’ve spent so much time training, I’ve barely been able to spend any with him.”
“And you want him to meet your new friend.”
“That’s right.”
Viggo gave him a twisted smile. “It’s going to be interesting to see how they get along. If they do.”
Lasgol rolled his eyes, shook his head and went on walking. The last part of the way was proving difficult. It was snowing more heavily all the time, and the icy wind was beginning to lash them as they climbed the steep slopes that would lead them to the cave at the foot of the mountain. As they climbed, they had to pay careful attention to their footing. One slip and they would roll downhill over the snow and hit the trees below them.
“Remind me to look for some new friends,” Viggo said.
“Who’d want you as a friend besides us?”
“True. Let’s keep going.”
Lasgol smiled. He knew Viggo said all those things to liven the journey up a little. He himself never took any of what his friend said seriously. He knew him too well for that. Viggo had turned into a kind of rebellious, grumbling brother with a great heart
who would give his life for him, and he knew it. People like that were very hard to find, as he knew perfectly well, and he valued him greatly.
He pointed to the cave entrance. “Here we are.”
“Thank goodness. I can’t feel my hands or my toes.”
“We can take shelter inside.”
“Inside? That’s where Snowflake’s mate is!”
“Easy, man, she won’t do anything to you.”
“I’ve already got enough on my hands with the creature and your panther. I don’t need to see a white tiger.”
“Stop talking and come in, or else you’ll freeze to death.”
Viggo muttered under his breath, but followed Lasgol to the cave and went in. When Lasgol called Ona to his side the panther followed him in and sniffed, then protested with a whimper.
“She doesn’t like it either.”
“It’s because she can smell the tigers.”
“That’s exactly what I mean.”
“Calm down. They won’t come up here.”
Lasgol lit a torch which Gisli had left there. Snowflake’s mate and her cubs were in a deeper cave. He handed the torch to Viggo.
“Here, warm up a little. Keep it high. I’m going to call Camu.”
Viggo made a comic face. “Don’t worry. I’m not moving from the entrance just in case I have to run for my life.”
Lasgol shook his head. He used his Gift and called upon his Animal Communication skill. Luckily the cave was not very deep, and his mental messages could reach Camu from inside it. But for that he needed to locate the aura of the little creature’s mind, so he now called upon his Aura Presence skill. After a moment he sensed it and communicated with him.