Nixis Training Entry - Confidence: Confidence Training

Nixis knew that she wasn't the most graceful tyto out there but her handler seemed really determined to help her learn how to walk and run better. She didn't mind doing some learning and running around with her handler seemed like fun! They had brought her out to a flat field that they had been visiting more often. Soft green grass spread out for what seemed like miles and overall the area was very flat. It did seem like a really good place to do some training, she would turn to her handler and tilt her head. She didn't exactly know how this was going to work, all she knew was that her handler had been bringing her out to learn how to run better. Or at least that's what she guessed they were doing, as they would run beside her and seemed to encourage her when she was doing well. She guessed it would be like the other times where the two just ran around the field. This often ended up with Nixis playfully nipping and chasing her handler. Of course she was careful to not actually hurt them, not after she learned biting too hard was bad for them. Nixis watched as her handler began taking off their backpack and unloading themselves. She took the moment it would take for her handler to get ready to explore a bit. The young tyto wandered around the field for a little bit and poked around for anything interesting. She was poking around in a bed of flowers when she heard her handler call her. Nixis would perk up and quickly turned around to face her handler who was now a good distance away from her. Her quick movement caused pollen to be dislodged from the flowers around her, this ended up with her sneezing as she moved away from the pollen and the flowers. She shook her head to try and get rid of the pollen in her nose.

Nixis heard her handler call for her again and this time when she looked up she noticed her handler was running off. She felt her excitement bubble as she quickly took off after them, her strides were inconsistent and clumsy but better than her first time out here training. Her tail streamed behind her as she began to gain on her handler, even if she was a clumsy runner she still had a longer stride than her handler who was quite small. Suddenly her handler made a sharp turn, when Nixis tried to follow them she found herself tripping over her own feet. The next thing she knew she was on the ground in a tangle of feathers and wings. Nixis huffed playfully as she rolled over and got to her feet and shook herself out. Before she knew it her handler was at her side and checking her over, Nixis would playfully nudge their shoulder as to say she was alright. With a small and playful nip they were back at it again, most of the time Nixis would just chase her handler around. However sometimes the two would run side by side, though her handler proved to be better on their feet than her. Often times when she tried to make sharp turns she would trip over herself and end up as a flurry of feathers on the ground. Despite her wipeouts it was still very fun to chase her handler around and her falling and tripping over herself didn't hurt her at all. Sure she might be a bit sore at the end but it wasn't anything that really bothered her. She continued to try to chase her handler and once again found herself on the ground.

Nixis would get back up onto her feet and shook herself once again, she shook of stray pieces of debris that had gotten all over her white feathers when she had fallen. Her handler like usual would come over to check that she was alright, Nixis would nudge them and nip them playfully to tell them that she was fine. A few falls wasn't going to stop her! So back at it they went, running and turning. Nixis kept tripping over herself but each time she got a little bit better and stayed on her feet a little longer. Slowly she learned where she was at and how to balance herself a little bit more. However she just wasn't able to get those sharp turns, she always ended up falling over herself when she tried. As for running in a straight line? She had gotten pretty good at that and had learned to balance herself while moving alright. It was mainly when she tried to sharply change direction or if an obstacle came into her path when she would end up falling. Her falling over herself so much ended up with her being covered in dirt and debris, it was especially noticeable thanks to her mainly white feathers. Her handler helped her brush the dirt off of her feathers but she knew that she'd need a good cleaning once they got home. However right now she didn't care about being dirty, she just wanted to keep enjoying the day with her handler. So she would shake them off and nudge them away, she wanted to run not be fussed over! Her handler seemed to get the message and the two went back to chasing each other and running alongside each other. After a few hours of this both Nixis and her handler were thoroughly exhausted, her leg muscles burned from all the running. So the two of them decided to retire for the day and go home, her handler would fuss over her all the way home.

Once they got home Nixis got all her feathers cleaned up and both her and her handler would eat and get rested up. The next day the two mainly continued resting up and kept their training brief. Then the day after that they returned to the field, they both continued their little running training. This training continued for a few weeks, each session Nixis slowly learned more about moving around without being a stumbling mess of feathers. Eventually she slowly learned how to use her tail as a rudder and counterbalance. She also learned how to turn sharper corners without toppling over herself. Her speed also increased and after a little while of this training she was easily over taking her handler. This often ended up with her running circles around her handler being the hyperactive adolescent she was. Her handler seemed happy that she was getting so much better at balancing and running. Soon enough Nixis was just prancing around easily without stumbling and falling. It soon became more of a game than training as Nixis no longer needed to focus so much on balancing. It seemed that using her tail and her weight with her instead of against her now came to her naturally. She was able to turn sharp corners without having to focus on keeping her balance and she has also picked up how to run longer without using up as much energy by lengthening her stride.