Stick 'em with the pointy end

Artorias soaked up the sun and watched the ocean waves while he waited for Briar to arrive, enjoying the peaceful interlude and solitude for a brief spell. When the sound of approaching paws on the sand caught his attention, the black and blue brute turned his head just in time to catch sight of his beautiful queen making her way towards him in the seclusion of their private cove. He greeted Briar with a loving smile that brightened up his entire expression just to see her and happily received her kiss, smooching her back to say hello. No matter how many years they had been married or how long they'd been together, he still got like a giddy teen having their first kiss whenever she gave him any affections, he just loved her so much.

Briar asked where they would begin and Artorias rose to his paws, gesturing with a flick of his head towards the makeshift arena he had set up. "Right over here, my gorgeous apprentice." Keeping the atmosphere and banter light and teasing between them was never difficult for the alpha couple to do, and it meant they'd just have more fun training and practicing together. Artorias liked to keep his lessons less rigid and tailored to his students. Briar would be getting extra special lessons all the same though. As he led her over to the training dummies, he picked up one of the two sparring daggers and placed it at Briar's paws, gesturing to Memento strapped to her foreleg. "We won't be starting with the actual blades right away. Basics first, then we can play with the fun toys." He waited for Briar to disarm herself while he took up his own blunted dagger, ready to begin their training.

First up, he would need to get Briar familiar with the feeling of fighting and maneuvering with something in her mouth. "Go ahead and pick up your training dagger. Get used to just holding it in your jaws. You want a secure grip, but not too firm that you're biting into the hilt, but strong enough that you won't lose hold of it." Art demonstrated by tossing his head back and forth, wildly swinging the blunted dagger a few times. The blade moved smoothly through the air, not wobbling or waving in his grasp. It was a fine line of finding the right amount of strength to use, and it was different for every wolf and every weapon. Once Briar had found that sweet spot, Artorias began a slow sway of his head left to right, then back again, showing how to swing the blade. "The important thing to keep in mind when using a blade is to make sure you know where your blade is pointing at all times. That determines how to move and turn your head to swing it. You always want the blade facing towards your opponents, like this."

Artorias positioned himself in front of a dummy, keeping the metal blade of the training dagger aimed in its direction. When he pivoted to face the other way, he smoothly turned the hilt around in his jaws so the blade stayed pointing at the dummy. Now it was Briar's turn. "Take some time, just get used to the feeling of brandishing a blade. Try positioning yourself at the dummy the way you would face an enemy. Try turning and moving, staying focused on your weapon." As she would practice these new moves, Artorias would go through the steps with her at her side, being a guide and live demonstration for her to observe and follow.

"Artorias Carpathius"