Marigold hopped up onto one of the straw dummies that dotted the training area, the fox brushing away some of the snow that had settled on top of it before she sat down, tipping her antlered head at Briar. "I'm not much help when it comes to fighting, I'm afraid. Just crafting the armor for it." Briar wore the set of armor that she and Marigold had been slowly chipping away at over the last season or two. She hadn't really known what she wanted, she just knew she wanted something after seeing some of the other wolves around the pack wearing some and Marigold had ended up being the brains behind the operation. The leather brace strapped to her chest still needed a few fittings to get it to sit just right and there was still some places that her helmet still had space for more spikes to be added, but it was complete enough to take for a test drive. "That's alright, I'll find someone else to practice with... Or just use one of these dummies." She wouldn't admit it, but she was a little afraid to face off against one of her siblings. She knew many of them were excelling in their training far more quickly than she had been and it made her a bit self conscious. She squared off with one of the dummies that Marigold wasn't perched on and started practicing moving and dodging with her new armor, trying to pick out any places where it was sliding around or anywhere that needed to be adjusted at the same time. "Briar" | "Marigold"

Gossamer was messing around in the training grounds. She sprang at one of the training dummies, nipping at the target before bounding away and racing along the beach only to loop back around and spring at another dummy. She was getting spring fever despite the colder weather. When she raced back toward the dummies she slowed as she spied her sister, Briar. She chirped a greeting at her sister. "Hey, sis! You come to do some training?" Gossamer was always itching for a fight. Now that she was almost a yearling she wanted to prove she was ready to graduate into the rank of a warrior.

In between some of her fake attacks and bounces in the heavy snow, she realized that her sister was near by and stopped when Gossamer called out to her. She knew that Gossamer in particular had really taken off in her training and the idea of facing off with her speckled sister did make her hesitate, but she didn't want to look like she was afraid of a challenge either. She hid her uncertainty with a grin and turned away from the dummy she was pretending to spar with as she called back, "Yeah! Of course!" She trotted over to where Gossamer was standing, her tail wagging gently behind her. She had gotten very good at hiding her own emotions as of late and now was certainly no exception. "What kind of training were you thinking?" She didn't know if her sister would just want a regular spar or if there was something else that she was working on that they would do instead. Briar was having trouble even figuring out where to go beyond the very basics so anything would be a lesson of some kind to her. "Briar" | "Marigold"

Gossamer grinned as her sister trotted over. Things had been so crazy and she'd been so consumed by her studies it felt like she'd hardly gotten any sibling time. At Briar's question, Gossamer shrugged. "Oh, I don't know. I was thinking of working on the dummies a bit but they aren't that fun any more." As a small pup she'd enjoyed fighting the still forms much more. Now that she was nearly a yearling she wanted to fight something that would actually fight back. She glanced again at Briar, her head cocked to the side. "You want to spar? Or maybe exchange some fight notes or something?" Briar would be a lot more fun to fight than a stiff, old dummy.

Briar gave a glance at the dummies when Gossamer mentioned how they had lost their luster and even though she wasn't as confident in her fighting skills as her sister certainly was she kind of had to agree. It was hard to imagine what a real fight would be like without an opponent that could attack back. Gossamer started listing off a couple options for what they could do, bringing Briar's turquoise gaze back over to her monochromatic sister. She didn't really know what sort of notes she could possibly give her sister - though there was probably a bunch that could be given to her. At least with a spar she might be able to just use what she had been taught so far to fake it till she made it and she'd have the added bonus of getting some real practice time with her new armor. "Well, I was testing out my new armor to make sure I liked the fit of it so maybe a spar would be good so I can feel what it's like in action," she replied with a grin. Silently she also hoped that any flaws in the armor could be used as an excuse for any bad moves she did, but she also didn't like making excuses. Her own self-sabotaging brain just tried to give her any kind of out to keep herself from feeling embarrassed. Moving over to one of the open sparring areas in the training grounds, she faced off against her sister and started getting into a defensive stance. Marigold lingered behind her, the antlered fox hopping down from where she was perched on one of the dummies to come join in on fight. "Why don't you start?" she asked with a nod, keeping her eyes peeled for her sister's movements so she could learn from Gossamer as they fought. "Briar" | "Marigold"

Gossamer listened as Briar mentioned she wanted to test out her armor and agreed to a spar. Great! Gossy's tail wagged immediately at the news. She felt it had been forever since she'd sparred another wolf, let alone one of her siblings. She'd gotten invested in crafting and hadn't found the time to practice actually fighting as much as she'd like.

Gossy nodded as Briar asked if she'd start. The saber-fanged girl moved back to leave a space of about ten feet between them. She swiftly set her defenses, making sure to pin her ears and tuck her tail. Soon as she was ready she bolted forward toward her sister. She barreled head on as if she planned to just ram right into her sister but instead she stepped to her right, seeking to throw her chest into Briar's left shoulder while at the same time twisting her head to her left as she sought to bight into the left side of Briar's neck, just behind the armor that went near her jawline.

Gossamer Fatalis vs Briar for Spar
Round 1/?
Age: Under 1 Year
Size: Large
Build: Medium
Offensive Battle Accessory: Clawed gauntlets
Defensive Battle Accessory: Spiked helmet and coif
Companion 1: Fox, Female - Battle (Boosted)
Companion 2: Snow leopard, Male - Battle
Skills: Master Fighter & Master Healer
Specialty: Knight

While Gossamer got into position, Briar did the same and set her defenses into place with her ears pinned back, tail tucked, and knees bent a bit so she could dodge whatever Gossy threw at her. Neither of them had fully finished growing yet, but she was just ever so slightly taller than her sister, but she didn't know if that was really going to be enough to be an advantage or disadvantage. Once both of the girls were set and ready, Gossamer did as requested and made the first move, running toward her quickly and crossing the distance between them easily. Briar braced herself for her sister to ram into her, her claws digging into the sand to try and stabilize her stance more, but then she realized that had all been a ploy when Gossamer suddenly darted to her right. The antlered girl scrambled to dodge the attack that she hadn't been as prepared for. She ducked to her right, pulling away just in time to feel Gossamer's teeth just graze her skin and not actually get a good hold on the left side of her neck. Trying to move quickly before Gossamer could get out of range, Briar shoved off the ground since her legs were now bent pretty much into crouching in her attempt to avoid her sister's attack, and practically leapt toward Gossamer to use as much momentum as possible. She attempted to throw her left shoulder into Gossamer's chest with that movement while also taking the opportunity to reset her stance a bit and shift to face the other Fatalis girl again. Briar Fatalis vs Gossamer Fatalis for Spar Round 1/2 Age: Under 1 year Size: Extra large Build: Medium Offensive Battle Accessory: Spiked Helmet Defensive Battle Accessory: Leather armor Companion 1: Dik-dik, Male - Battle Companion 2: Fox with antlers, Female - Battle Mutation 1: Antlers (small) - Offensive Mutation 2: Feline claws - Offensive Skills: Intermediate Fighter & Intermediate Healer Specialty: N/A "Briar" | "Marigold"

Briar moved swiftly to the side causing Gossamer's full attack to miss but she did glean some success in nicking her sister's neck. She'd have to take what she could get. Briar suddenly surged up, her shoulder slamming into gossamer's chest. Pain blossomed from the blow and bruises were sure to follow but Gossamer was still hopped up on adrenaline and eager to continue the fight. Her jaws dove down seeking to seize the top of Briar's left shoulder. She wanted to get a good grip and… ok, she didn't really have a plan. Gossamer was the sort who just reacted in a fight. She didn't do much planning ahead when it was just her and her opponent.

Gossamer Fatalis vs Briar for Spar
Round 2/2
Age: Under 1 Year
Size: Large
Build: Medium
Offensive Battle Accessory: Clawed gauntlets
Defensive Battle Accessory: Spiked helmet and coif
Companion 1: Fox, Female - Battle (Boosted)
Companion 2: Snow leopard, Male - Battle
Skills: Master Fighter & Master Healer
Specialty: Knight

Briar grinned as she slammed her shoulder into Gossamer's chest, feeling a twinge of pain in her own shoulder that she was sure would bruise, but luckily the thick leather that capped her shoulder took away some of the impact and acted like a bit of a buffer. As she was pivoting to face Gossamer properly again and resetting her stance, her sister launched her return attack with a bite that reached for her left shoulder. Briar didn't have a chance to stop her, but she did at least shift a bit to her left so that the girl's elongated fangs were fully stopped by the thickest part of her armor that laid near the base of her neck. The teeth of Gossamer's lower jaw bit into the front part of her shoulder, making her wince, but it certainly wasn't as bad as it could have been! Briar lunged for her sister's left shoulder as well, aiming the bite for where Gossamer's neck and shoulder met, potentially locking them in a bit of a battle of wills with the two sisters gripping onto each other's shoulders. Briar Fatalis vs Gossamer Fatalis for Spar Round 2/2 Age: Under 1 year Size: Extra large Build: Medium Offensive Battle Accessory: Spiked Helmet Defensive Battle Accessory: Leather armor Companion 1: Dik-dik, Male - Battle Companion 2: Fox with antlers, Female - Battle Mutation 1: Antlers (small) - Offensive Mutation 2: Feline claws - Offensive Skills: Intermediate Fighter & Intermediate Healer Specialty: N/A "Briar" | "Marigold"

And the winner is...

Briar

Gossamer must give up by submitting, fleeing or passing out. Totals: Gossamer: Rolls: 9, 78, 21, 38 Adjusted rolls: 13.05, 109.2, 21, 38 Total: 199.38 Briar: Rolls: 60, 99, 91, 42 Adjusted rolls: 90, 123.75, 91, 42 Total: 329.41