บท 10: Chapter 10 — Being a Tamer 1
Chapter 10—Being a Tamer 1
Really?! … Really? No presentation, no introduction to all this or a book to help me, I arrive without knowing anything, without any experience with animals and directly I have to train a mouse? Is it normal what is happening here?….
To begin with, I look at the cage with the mices. There are a dozen of them fidgeting inside just as I approach. I have the impression of scaring them… I bring a chair and sit in front of the cage. The mice look at me, but don't seem to really care.
They seem busy doing... mice stuff. That is to say nothing.
I rub my face with my hands. Just a few minutes ago I was witnessing a scene in the lobby challenging what I know of reality and now I have to train a mouse.
Okay, let's focus. I'm going to spend the day here so I might as well start quickly.
My experience with animals is close to zero. I have never had a pet and have rarely approached them. Training an animal is supposed to take time or even weeks, so when am I supposed to say it's done? If I think about it step by step what is the first thing a Tamer is supposed to do with an animal? Take care of it, right?
I take what looks like croquettes from a tray on the floor and pour some on the top of the cage. The mice fidget a bit before pouncing on the food almost immediately. Awesome. They eat. That's all.
It's a failure, I really had a great idea there. Apart from feeding them, I don't have the impression of having done much… I have become a dispenser of kibble….
First attempt, a resounding failure.
Okay, let's start from the beginning. Just feeding is not enough. Do I have to find something else? Water maybe? No, I have to stop with my ideas, I'm not going to become a water dispenser either, it doesn't help me.
Why did it not work? No doubt because it was too easy. I didn't make contact with a single mouse while doing this so I have to change my method. The mice seem less fearful of me anyway. Some come from my side, biting the cage as if to tell me to release them. Of course, I know this is a bad idea. If I do that, they'll come out and run away. There is only one happy fool to attempt this sort of thing.
In the end, attempt # 1 was perhaps not so bad since I already seem to be scaring them less, so I should perhaps continue to serve them food. I take a kibble between my fingers that I stick against the cage. The mice throw themselves on it and scratch my fingertip which makes me drop the kibble and move my hand back…
I am not a wimp, but it is more by surprise that I reacted like that. The mice that were stacked on top of each other end up returning to different corners of the cage. Well, I guess we can say it…
Second attempt: Fail
I was expecting a better result… Not only did I stay in the role of the kibble dispenser, but I also just showed that I was not able to endure a small scratch. So if I were in the place of a mouse, I would probably tell myself that I am weaker than them, despite my size. There, you have it, a "real Tamer" in short. Okay, let's start again and stop being negative.
If that didn't work, there are two reasons. First of all, they stacked on top of each other and it was first come, first serve, so it wasn't a good method since I was pushing them into competing against each other for food. Second, there is my own reaction, what was I supposed to expect? If my plate was a hand and there were ten of us wanting to eat from it with a fork and knife, an accident is bound to happen, right? And then if I can't take a little scratch… How can I get the respect of a bunch of mice in a cage?
Let's try something else. This time I put my hand inside the kibble bin and cover it with crumbs. I then approach the cage by distributing my fingers along the surface. The mice spread one by one along the cage and begin to eat the crumbs of kibble. Some are starting to nibble my fingers, but I force myself not to react. Gradually, they seem to relax and hurry less to collect the last crumbs that are still on my hand.
It seems to work? Am I succeeding?
I speak too fast.
They end up losing interest in my hand completely and go back for a walk in the cage. However one of the mice seems to want to stay and lies down near where my hand sleeps. When I say close, my hand is still behind the cage without having a real physical connection. I decide to try the experiment again. I go back to put my hand in the croquettes and I come back to put it against the cage. The same scene happens and the mice all come back to eat the crumbs on my hand. Once finished, one of them continues to search for crumbs while the same mouse from earlier remains lying near my hand.
Does it work?
I have mixed feelings about the result. Well, there are two mices that seem to accept me. The one who sleeps and the one who searches for the last crumbs. The others don't seem to be interested in me anymore and walk around the rest of the cage. I have managed to establish peaceful contact and feel like I have stepped forward towards my goal. But suddenly, I get depressed. I know why, it's because I was expecting something else. Having seen armor and weapons and all kinds of stuff since I arrived, I feel like I'm playing marbles. While others are learning to do magic, to fight, I feed mice. It's ridiculous.
This is not how I will be able to climb the tower. After seeing the state the rangers are back in, how can a mouse help me?
In short, I give up. This is stupid. The person who is supposed to teach me things is sleeping while I try to bond with mice and after what? I teach them to do circus tricks? No better, I give them armor, a small shield and a small sword between the legs and I let them face a cat. Here. It will be as ridiculous as what I'm trying to do.
It is then that I open the cage of the mice on a whim and let them out. They will be free at least. My head hurts and I feel dizzy, probably from anger. Since I've been in the tower, it's always been about doing this and that without really giving me the choice of what I want to do. Whether it's Cyrus, Emy or the one sleeping in the room whose name I don't know. All this for what? I lost my girlfriend and I have no goal. They walk me right to left taking me for an idiot and they end up locking me with mices in a room. I feel lost and nauseous.
As my head continues to spin, I walk over to the sort of sofa in the room and lie down, or rather collapse on it as my headache gets worse. This is all so ridiculous…
*
"Hey, keep calm, but wake up. "
I open my eyes slowly and fall on the face of my "teacher" who keeps me lying down. With a sign of her finger, she shows me my chest where I can see a mouse sleeping on my T-shirt, the same one that was already sleeping in the cage near my hand. My head hurts terribly, but seeing this mouse calms me down in a way and I feel like I'm sleepy too.
"My congratulations, you are a Tamer. Now rest. "
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