Submission (#374) Approved

Writing Submission:
[1064x] Word Count (per 100 words) = 10,64 Shards
[1064x] \+bonus per 500 words = 4,256 Shards
[1x] Extra JellHead Interaction = 1 Shards
Sub-Total = 15 Shards


Final Total = 15 Shards
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"Hey! No! COME ON!" the exasperated screeching from just out of sight had Yorunee glance over to her jellhead before she gave a sigh. Just what in the world was Maya doing? She had told him that jellheads tended to not respond in the same manner as other creatures, so yelling tended to not help a whole lot. When the pair finally saw the small group that they were coming out here to help, the anthro bat literally covered her face with one hand with another sigh.

The anthro wolf was currently on the ground, tangled up in... what appeared to be a saddle harness, and the aardwolf was currently pouncing on him and darting off, apparently thinking that this was downright hilarious. Yoru could almost hear the creature laughing, even though she knew that was her imagination. "Man, really?" she exhaled, then looked at Proxi and was about to ask him for help, but the large bat was already moving in to help. The screech of surprise from Maya had her laughing as Proxi used his claws to pry off the mount gear and kept batting at MI with his long tail. It was quick work to right her friend, and she came over and held her hand out to him.

"I told you, they aren't exactly easy to tame," she stated, helping the canine dust himself off.

"So I see," he replied, then looked up at the bat jellhead. "Have you ever considered making him a mount? He's pretty big, and it might be easier to direct him-"

Yoru didn't let her friend finish. "I can perch on his shoulder or cling to his back without any trouble. I'm a bat, after all. It doesn't make working with him any easier. If that's what you're trying to do, though, why didn't you start with DM?" As she asked, she picked up the gear and started to unlatch everything. Her long ears flicked back to the other anthro as she made her way to the two jellheads, Proxi having taken the lull in orders as a good moment to pin the hyena-like artificial to the ground. MI certainly seemed annoyed at this, all four paws thrashing about and kicking up dust, his jellskin and leaking jell turning from blue to red as it flowed wildly.

"I figured starting on the ground would be smarter. DM can fly, and that just seemed like asking to be hurt," Maya admitted as he watched intently at the interaction between the two jellheads. It looked like Yorunee hadn't been kidding when she said that naturals tended to be stronger than artificials.

"I guess that's true. Adding the sky and the ground into the equation, with a wild jellhead, does sound dangerous," she agreed as she started to buckle the gear into place. Some of the red jell grabbed at her arm, but she just bat it away with her wings and kept on working until she got the saddle properly cinched down.

"Alright, I think this has it," she stated with a proud nod, then tapped the dark bat's wing to have him let up his captive. The moment he hopped off, MI rolled onto his paws and charged blindly, only to crash into some nearby bushes, much to both handlers' amusement.

"I brought a leash along as well, since I know reigns won't work on them," Maya commented, pulling out a black leash from his pocket. He looped the clasp through the handle, so that he had something better to hold on to, then walked over to the sprawled out canine. He was quick to get the leash clipped to the saddle, then braced himself as MI tried to make a break for it again. "Woah there, easy boy," he cooed, only getting another soft laugh from Yorunee.

"Maybe try petting on him a bit? Also, how are you planning to ride him. He's a bit small for that, isn't he?"

Maya looked over at the pink bat, then smiled. "Don't worry, size won't be an issue at all," he reassured her, very unconvincingly. He started to pet on the other canine, watching as the tense form started to relax slightly, the jell turning a kind of purple in color as it kept fading between the blue and red. It seemed like MI wanted to stay annoyed, but was losing that fight as he realized that the situation wasn't really all that bad.

"So, if I'm on him while he roams around, I kind of figure that it might be easier to spot things and correct him or praise him, you know?" Maya explained, then grabbed the front of the saddle and hopped onto it. His long fluffy tail curled around his form while he was in the air, and a small dark gray rabbit with an oddly long tail took the place of the canine anthro. His blue, light gray, and green markings all matched up with the form that Yorunee had just been talking to, but... a rabbit?

"Maya?" the pink bat asked, to which the rabbit offered a laugh of his own, though it cut off as he clung to the leash as his jellhead started to struggle in an attempt to throw him off. "You're not the only one with magic at your wings. Mine is only limited to myself, though," he explained.

Yorunee stepped forward to cut off MI's path, to try and help calm him back down. When the aardwolf reared up and turned on his hind paws, he landed and promptly crashed right into the larger bat jellhead. Proxi was quick to get both sets of wing claws on the rampaging canine, his long tail coiling around the artificial jellhead's forelegs to limit movement. With the beast currently calmed, even if it was by force, Maya reached forward and started to pet the soft fur.

"See? Nothing to it, right? I just have to hold on for dear life until he gets used to it," he laughed, to which Yorunee rolled her eye. "And if you die, I can't revive you, you know that," she countered, something telling her that this was going to be a much longer day for what would probably be minimal progress...