As Animalia continued to move on from Thanksgiving, Mercy continued to make her way through the various lessons that had been scheduled for her. Having her meet the girls from the "seven on four night" was one of the more interesting ways of showing Animalia's more unique ways of crime and punishment, though Mercy also knew that that was largely a demonstration with those who's offenses were a bit less than hers. Though given that they wanted her in the Rhino Guard's "stealth division," Mercy also had to admit that they were at least consistent in that regard.
However, her lessons weren't limited to that and were often carried out in various stages and sections over the course of the day. It often started with Mr. Smith and one Wolf Animalian arriving at her apartment and taking her to the Animalia PD Station, which actually wasn't too far from the Great Hall for the first part of her training. A part of her resented the fact that she had to arrive at the station by 6 AM, but at the same time, she also recognized that Mr. Smith was pretty much waiting for her to make a mistake, and for the moment she didn't want to end up in jail for all the various burglaries and thefts that the FBI at least had her connected to, and thus she went along with it.
The station wasn't huge, which actually surprised her in a way, but it did have some open space behind it that was fenced off as a means of setting up outdoor training areas. As Mr. Smith and the Wolf Animalian lead her in, she also found that there were various internal rooms that went beyond conference rooms, locker rooms, offices and so on. One of them was practically set up as a classroom from school.
"This area is our squad room, where our uniformed officers will get briefed on assignments for the day," the Wolf Animalian spoke, "and with the day shift already started, you will have this space to study..."
"Like notepads?" Mercy asked back as she sat down, and adjusted her wings as she did so. While many of the chairs were adapted to suit the weight of Animalians easily, she also found that the chairs were not really suited for Animalians with wings, and particularly bat Animalians, where the wing was essentially an extended hand with a membrane of skin between the fingers. That left a fair amount of bone there that Mercy knew she couldn't sit on her wings without doing them some harm. She watched as the Wolf Animalian turned to a long table that was behind him while Mr. Smith stood on the other side. When the Wolf Animalian turned back he was holding a large blue book.
"The manual... and many of the instructional manuals that every officer with the APD had to read and study up on when the department was founded," the Wolf Animalian answered, "It's a bit late and a different circumstance in that we can't send you to the academy... but the crash course will work if you focus on it."
Mercy took it and looked at the table of contents and then noted that much of the material looked to be basic and more in line with what the Animalia PD normally did, patrol and keep down on speeders or drunks, which often seemed to be the most reported crime in Animalia, usually the result of tourists coming in for the various events that Animalia put on in the summer. Now in late November to early December, that sort of thing was even less likely as most people didn't travel during that time of the year.
"A lot of this seems pretty basic..." Mercy commented.
"It is," the Wolf Animalian answered, "the Rhino Guard is Animalia's equivalent to SWAT units with other police forces... just in case something odd happens... but because you're just getting started, we'll start from the ground up. Once you pass through the required tests for a badge issued by the State, we'll transfer you over to Sudan and he will handle the more specified regulations that would relate to the Rhino Guard. A lot of this may take awhile... but work hard at it and you'll be fine."
"This feels like going back to school," Mercy grumbled.
"Wait until you see the worksheets," Mr. Smith snickered from the other side of the table making Mercy groan.
++++++++++++++++++++++++
And much of the morning did go that way with reading, worksheets, and question and answer segments. It was something that was somewhat boring in terms of the nature of the work, but it was also something that Mercy couldn't get out of. Particularly as the Wolf Animalian and Mr. Smith seemed perfectly content to work through the reading, classroom sessions and then looking over what work Mercy turned in. A part of her figured she'd have an option for slacking, but given how close Mr. Smith had watched, she figured that if she really did anything that he didn't like that... she could find herself back in the cell. As such she sighed and went along with it.
By about ten AM, however, they did get into some more physical training, which Mercy was more in favor of. It took them outside and behind the police station where she'd found that a sort of obstacle course had been set up. She wasn't particularly keen on the cold, but it still beat being caught inside and seated in a chair.
"So you want me to run the obstacle course here?" Mercy asked as she looked around the route with set of traffic cones that she was to move to in a way that would have her work on trying to corner through them at high speed. There was also a set of rubber tires that were laid out, likely for her to step in. The last part of the test was a sort of large platform made of wood that had a large circular hoop to dive through. It didn't look too tough to get through, but even with her coat on, Mercy felt herself shiver a little. The Black Mastiff Bat wasn't one that was commonly found in areas that could see freezing temperatures, and while her fur was back, it wasn't as warm or as insulating as the Wolf Animalian's.
"It's something that helps us keep in shape," the Wolf Animalian answered.
"To watch tourists go buy," Mercy pointed out.
"While Lyre and Animalia may not see much in the way of crime... it never hurts to be prepared," the Wolf Animalian commented, "particularly when there has always seemed to be a surprise here or there..."
"Like a professional thief coming in to steal a replica set of jewels," Mr. Smith snickered again, making her scowl at him.
Mercy scowled to him as the wolf Animalian then explained the course with its zigging and zagging, stepping inside every tire and then looping around to dive through the large hoop.
"You may wish to keep your wings folded and roll sideways," the Wolf Animalian said to her as he finished the explanation, "and the snow should be soft enough."
"Along with being cold," Mercy commented.
"It shouldn't take too long," the Wolf Animalian answered, "and given that a lot of your work with the Stealth Division will likely have you on loan dealing with some of the things that have gone missing that "Mr. Smith" says you are suspected of being connected to... you will have to adapt to varying climates and environments. So we can't just have things set up for your convenience."
"Fine," Mercy grumbled, "I'll make it through without hitting anything! Just to show I can do it."
Mercy then ran forward, planting her feet deeply into the snow as she ran along feeing it crunch under her feet. And it was relatively soft snow, but it was still cold enough that she could feel it and that kept her going. And while her feet hadn't changed that much, because bats generally weren't known for moving well on land, she did find that she had to slow down a bit as she moved through the cones, zigging and zagging to each one and avoiding each traffic cone, before sprinting forward toward the tires. She had to lift her knees high to go through the tires, and found that the snow was deeper in them than anything else. From there she then finished with the loop to run toward the hoop.
The hoop was plenty wide enough for her to dive through without touching it, especially if she kept her wings tucked to her back or sides. She ran toward it and figured it would be easy, with the plan being to rotate in the air as she went through the hoop in order to control her landing and then roll back onto her feet. The attempt went mostly to plan, though she also found that her height was a bit taller than expected and her posterior ended up brushing against the hoop as she went through it. She landed and rolled well before getting back to her feet and brushing the snow off her.
"Without hitting anything, eh?" the Wolf Animalian teased with Mr. Smith snickering in the background.
"We will never speak of this again," Mercy answered, feeling quite embarrassed.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The last adventure was thankfully indoors and with the cooperation of the Claw Coliseum, which had set up a large series of mats along the floor. They were thick and spongy, and as Mercy walked along them, a part of her got the sense that she was on a trampoline. Of course with this being an opportunity to get some flying lessons in, some of that might be necessary. Flight wasn't something that was easy. Humans could only fly with machines that used an engine that would then allow the plane's wings to gain lift. Or they had balloons carrying enough hot air or sacks of gas that were lighter than air to lift into the air. Birds and bats used their wings naturally to gain lift, and were actually the inspiration for airplane wings. However, all of them risked substantial injury or even death if they couldn't gain lift and fell to the ground.
So far, Mercy had het to get any real flying lessons and had been kept in places with such low ceilings that the best she could manage were a few minor flaps of her wings. It wasn't enough to get her into the air and that had thus far kept her grounded.
"You're not afraid I'll fly away... are you?" Mercy asked to Mr. Smith who kept a close eye on her.
"That will be a concern," Mr. Smith admitted, "but for the moment, you're in an inside space, with no roof openings. Thus by the time you'd get to the front door, I or Officer Trace..." Mercy glanced over to the Wolf Animalian while Mr. Smith continued, "would catch up. And at the same time, the anklet you're wearing carries a radio signal that can be tracked... and the band that is on there is well reinforced. Which means you can't cut it with any old pair of scissors and the tool that might be able to cut through it would still take you time to do so. In this, we can either track you or catch you before you get rid of the tracker. And if you flee... there goes any opportunity to see things from the point of view of law enforcement and any hope you have at REAL freedom. The present administration will step in and you will spend a long time in a very small cell in solitary confinement."
That sounded excessive to Mercy, but the Wolf Animalian officer, Trace, said nothing to stop it, which was enough to raise some nervousness on Mercy's part. Before she could say anything, though, her flight instructor arrived.
"Hello, miss... Mercy, I take it?" came a male voice, making Mercy turn around and her jaw dropped as she did so.
"Ye... yu… yes," Mercy managed to look to the new arrival.
It was an uplifted male bat. He wore a warm pair of jeans and a shirt, but was pulling off the jacket. From what Mercy could see, his fur was largely a dark brown with the exception of the fur on the top of his head which was more of a cream/gold shade. He had modest fox like ears and reasonably long and pointed muzzle with a lighter brown colored eyes. However what took Mercy's breath away in the moment was his size. He easily stood a few inches taller than her and was well muscled, particularly for any Animalian that would be wanting to get into the air. He wasn't a Black Mastiff Bat, but he was certainly enough to get some of Mercy's mind suddenly drifting to other things.
"Yeah... there aren't too many bat Animalians... I think only Miss Vivian actually converted to be with her husband," the bat Animalian smiled, catching Mercy's stutter and would have made her turn red with embarrassment if anyone could see through her black fur, "Most of us were animals in the zoo when the outbreak hit."
"Miss Vivian...?" Mercy wondered.
"Yes... she runs the lingerie and clothing store for Animalians here," the bat Animalian answered, "I've heard that she's also talked a lot with various Animalians and with some mystery psychologist that's published papers defending how Animalians see the world... but that's neither here nor there."
"And isn't why we're here," Trace commented, "Mercy here will eventually serve with the Rhino Guard's Stealth Division... and with some potential loan mission to other police forces and the FBI as well... she will need to learn to fly."
The bat Animalian nodded, "And I'm Bruce... and I'd be more than happy to teach you how to fly, Mercy. It'll take some effort with your wings... given that bats generally roost in caves, trees, or other high places and thus taking off from the ground can be a bit difficult. Though, I've found that the uplifting process has allowed for enough leg strength for me to combine it with strong wing beats to get into the air. In that the nature of the wing beats won't be too different from the bird Animalians... perhaps even the Pterosaur Animalians... but the two of them that live here right now are in school so..."
"You're wandering," Mr. Smith spoke cutting Bruce off and actually snapping some of the day dreams that were running through Mercy's mind, some of which avoided flying and just going straight to the showers.
"Sorry," Bruce said slowly and lifted out one wing and then slowly to it through the up and forward motion of each wing beat, "this is the way you'd want to beat your wings... Obviously fiercely to get into the air, but once in the air, you can relax a little. And with the padding that's been put out... you shouldn't have to worry too much about crashing."
"Uh-huh," Mercy managed.
"So remember... jump and then flap," Bruce spoke and then demonstrated taking a slight jog before jumping into the air and flapping hard.
Mercy was impressed with his wingspan and watched as he got a few flaps in before his progress was enough to get him higher into the air. It wasn't fast and she thought that his wings might have brushed the ground initially, but Bruce did get into the air and he circled above them before calling down that it was "Mercy's turn." She gave a gulp and slowly tried. It took a few attempts, as flight wasn't something she could theoretically do on her own before and some of Mr. Smith's laughs didn't help when she landed on the mats that had been put down. But eventually she did manage to get enough momentum to get into the air and flying. She didn't go too high at first and it would take some more coaching from Bruce to help her with regard to turning and so on. This practice, however, she could make do with... though Mercy also had to try hard to put down thoughts that she was sure weren't appropriate for the situation.