After much practice, the velociraptor angel responds quite well to training.
Eyes closely following its trainer's fingers, or the little flags trainer sometimes uses. Posture primed to move in whichever direction indicated, to perform the desired task, to deduce what needs to be done to receive the next reward. Wings curl inward, claws hook at air, head tilts to side. Intentional and engaged, busy with ideas, and obviously happy.
However, eventually trainer and it had worked through all the necessary training for its work. Teaching it where to go, where to sit, where to look. How to respond to each and every expected problem or threat and confirming for the unexpected ones that it knows how to behave. Familiarizing it with all the various workers and people it would need to be around. But still it wanted to be trained more.
At the scheduled time each day, it would show up at the mat laid out for training. On practice days after it was run through prior behaviors to review them, it stayed out. And on other days when the mat wasn't laid out, it would lay it out itself. Claws dragging it to an approximation of the normal place. It clearly wanted to learn more, and so trainer decided to keep training it.
Thus, posture training and stranger training began. Training it to not startle when touched. Training it to hold poses and behave in stressful situations. Training it to be used to strangers, both their presence and their occasionally wandering fingers. Training it to show off when desired and hold still when not, all on trainer's cues.
It was clearly a counterintuitive process for it. Velociraptor angels startle easily, and are rarely friendly with strangers. And worse, holding still was even harder for it. It was used to needing to move, needing to focus, needing to stay on target. Ignoring stimulus was so very different. Especially when already stressed.
At times it would storm out of sessions in frustration. Hiss or squawk and flap loudly before darting away. On the following days, sessions would need to be kept short. Mindful of its temper, and gentle with it. When it got especially bad, trainer would briefly restart from scratch, quickly working up through the various goals and rewarding each. Showing it how far its come.
But, it continued to join further sessions. It enjoyed its progress, and it wanted to keep learning. It sought out the next reward, and acted as required to receive it. Working with trainer to reach greater heights.
And so, gradually, the angel adjusted to the touch of strangers. It took pride in how well it held still with so many eyes upon it and learned to receive all manner of contact comfortably and happily. Still some days were bad days and it needed more help from trainer, but other days were good days. It learned what was expected of it, and learned to enjoy it.
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