Gossamer slept in a bit longer than she meant to but she didn't feel guilty about it. The sun was streaming into her den, she was warm and content. Her mother had returned. She was a warrior in training. For once it seemed like everything was right with the world. Gossamer rolled to her feet and stretched as she stepped outside of the den. It was late morning on a beautiful fall day and it was time to get started. She'd promised her father she would hold a fighting lesson with two wolves under 2 years old.

The most obvious choice would be Aslatiel's children, but she'd been giving the new mother a wide berth and honestly she found the idea of training two young children in front of her father particularly nerve-wracking. What if they misbehaved? What was she allowed to do as far as discipline? How did one discipline children anyway? No, in the end she decided to hold a training session with her sisters Aris and Ophelia. Briar and Kotori had chosen their paths and become warriors in training. Gossamer was the latest to move out of her roll as princess. But what about Aris and Ophelia?

She figured she'd hold a fight training session at least and broach the topic. Even if they didn't want to pursue the roll of warrior fighting was an essential skill in the Armada. Tipping back her head she politely called for Aris and Ophelia to join her at the training ground.

Ophie didn't really want to be here, to be honest, but if Gos wanted to walk the warrior path then wasn't it her sisterly duty to help support her? She lingered on the edge of the Plain as she saw her sister's form from a distance, strong and sleek and Ophie felt a pang of embarrassment. Ophie was already out of breath just from walking and it would only get worse from here on out. After all, training included a lot of strenuous exercise and considering the extra few pounds she'd put on well...it was safe to say working out wasn't something she enjoyed or was any good at. Biting back her concerns and urge to toddle back off to her usual hiding spot, Ophie stepped out onto the sand and tried to slow her breathing, all cool and casual. Like her legs weren't tired already.

"Hey Gos! Sorry I'm late I was uh- yeah. What are we doing?" She glanced around and swallowed the lump of dread that had settled in her throat.

Ari tilted her head curiously, hearing Gossamer's voice calling for her and Ophelia from the training grounds. Well, that was unusual, for sure, both being called to the training ground - since no one had called a training meeting since Asla told them all she wasn't going to call training meetings and to go figure it out themselves - and for Gossamer to be calling them there. Maybe she wanted a spar or something? Then why call for her and Ophelia? Ophie wasn't exactly the most... well... she wasn't really someone Aris would have thought to invite for sparring. It definitely piqued her curiosity though, and Ari made her way there with Tansy trailing behind. Even Dirk was there for once, though he hadn't been before the call came, the nosy bastard, and he immediately ensconced himself up somewhere high to get a better vantage point, all the better to hurl insults at them when the time came. "Hey, Goss, hey Ophie, what's up?" Ari asked, grinning as she shouldered into both Gossamer and Ophelia affectionately.

The Warlord heard the call from one daughter, summoning two others. He knew what it was about, and turned in from his patrol with a smile. She was holding that fighting lesson, wasn’t she? She said she would, and it would put her on the path to becoming a warrior within the Armada.

He came in at a light trott, finding a small collection of his daughters already there. He moved forward, aiming to plant a gentle kiss to Goss’s forehead. “You’ve got this” he promised, and that was all the interference he would do. “Oph, my love, Aris my angel” he said in greetings. Then, he pulled back, and settled himself down a short distance away, giving her room to breath and grow.

Gossamer grinned as Ophelia arrived and shook her head lightly. "No need to worry, you're not late. I'll explain in a minute." She could see Aris heading towards them and soon her smaller sister was there. "Dad wants me to try holding a training session and I thought maybe, you two would like to give it a shot." Briar and Kotori were already warriors-in-training, it was the three of them that were still hanging around in their princess ranks and so it made the most sense to invite Aris and Ophelia. One might argue it would make the most sense to try training Asla's kids as they were younger but Gossamer still wasn't sure how to behave around children.

Soon her father arrived and she felt the nerves start to flutter in her stomach. Oh man, how was she even going to go about this? She smiled nervously at her sisters. Sirius kissed her forehead and told her she had this, but she still felt anxious. She really wanted to do well, but in truth she had no idea where to even start in giving a lesson, having no idea where her sisters were at.

Gossamer cleared her throat and turned to Aris and Ophelia. "I want to hold a lesson on fighting, but I have to be honest I don't know where your skill levels are at. I don't want to give you a lesson on something you already know so what I'd like you two to do is spar. When its over I'll give feedback on anything I see that can be worked on and you can feel free to ask me questions and let me know what you want to learn most about fighting. If I don't know the answer then I'll do my best to find out." She wasn't an all knowing expert but she had amassed a fair amount of spar experience and even predator battle experience.

ooc: So for this spar I was thinking it might be fun to do a little dice roll for attack success. Like
1 = epic fail, missed terribly
2 = miss
3&4 = glancing blow
5 = hit
6 = critical hit (you may have overdone it)

After each post I'll roll a d6 and we can see how the attack goes. Just a little something to spice this up.

Ophie offered her littlest sister a lopsided smile, all teeth and loving intent. She would have been fine with this just being a thing between sisters, but she was honestly a little taken aback when the Warlord entered the scene to watch over his warriors in training. For a moment she worried what she'd see when she looked at his eyes, whether he'd be all angry and judgy, but as always there was a softness to his gaze. He was harsh at times, there was no denying it, but for all her worries he'd never outright been rude about her condition. Sometimes it felt like she was just making it up for the attention, flinching at her own shadow, but even knowing that wasn't enough to be rid of it all. It felt as though it was a part of her, engrained into her skin for all to see. Weakness. Swallowing all of that nonsense-for now at least, she had company- she offered Sirius a tail wag before settling her focus on big sis Gos.

So they were supposed to spar? Well...okay, Ophie could do that.

"Oh okay...Well I'm coming for you Aris so watch out!" Yeah, real intimidating.

Naturally, Ophie did what she did best scuffed her paws across the sand, like a bull readying a charge. Kicking off, she hunkered her shoulder and pressed her ears flat against her skull. Her sister was such a tiny target, Ophie probably was gonna miss but it was worth a shot, right? Ought to use her strengths-and heft- to her advantage.


Ophelia vs Aris for spar
Round 1/2
Age: over 1
Size: Medium
Build: Obese
Companion 1: Raccoon, Male - Battle
Companion 2: Oversized Robin, Male - Flying
Mutation 1: Cat Claws - offensive
Skills: Beginner Healer & Expert Fighter

Their dad wanted her to train them? She was the same age as them! Aris felt a hint of pique at the way it seemed to infantilize them compared to the rest of their siblings. Briar had gotten trained by an adult; Kotori was getting trained as a warrior too. But she and Ophelia got regulated to the kiddy classes? Ophelia was obvious why, but what was it about her that made no one take her seriously?

She swallowed down her resentment to give Gossamer a tight, fangy grin. Their father swept in right then, though, and she shifted uncomfortably. They didn't even get to feel humiliated in private, they had to have their very overwhelming father judge their humiliation to make it complete? Aris wanted to sink into the ground.

Instead she bounced up into a half-crouch facing Ophelia. She wanted to get it over with; she wanted just as much to enjoy the feeling of a fight, but her enjoyment felt smothered beneath hot embarrassment and nerves.

As Ophelia charged, Aris stepped lightly to her left to avoid getting crushed, snapping her jaws at Ophelia's right foreleg in an attempt to grip the limb and trip her up. Simultaneously she was lashing out with her left forepaw, claws unsheathed, towards her larger sister's ribcage. The spines along her back were standing on end as much in nervous energy as for protection, knowing both Gossamer and their father were watching to see if either of them screwed up, and how embarrassing would it be to fuck up and lose to Ophie?

Aris vs Ophelia for spar
Round 1/2
Age: over 1 year
Size: Small
Build: Light
Companion 1: Black-footed cat, Female - Battle
Companion 2: Blue jay, Male - Flying
Mutation 1: Oversized canines - Offensive
Mutation 2: Cat claws - Offensive
Mutation 3: Spine bristles - Defensive
Skills: Beginner Healer & Beginner Fighter

Ophie wasn't surprised when her charge didn't land, wooshing on by as Aris easily sidestepped. She felt the tug of teeth against her limb and had to bite back the urge to vocalise an ouch! Dad was watching, she didn't want to make an even bigger fool out of herself than she already was. Aris' teeth were far longer and sharper than her own, Ophie was real damn lucky it was only a passing graze cause otherwise it would have hurt a whole lot more. And had she gotten a hold it would have been really difficult to squirm her leg free.

The same couldn't be said for her clawed slap though, it landed right where it was supposed to and connected with the line of her ribs, knocking the air out of her lungs. This wasn't going well for Ophie, to say the least. It felt unsalvageable, like every move was a mistake, a mockery of whom she ought to be. With her sides heaving and heart racing-either from exertion or anxiety, who knew- Ophie went all in with her next move.

Rearing up to her full height-even Ophie noticed she was a real flincher in the midst of battle- she extended her front paw with claws unsheathed. Two could play at the slapping game and if Ophie had her way her hit would land like a boxer's fist against the side of Aris' muzzle. Watoosh!

Ophelia vs Aris for spar
Round 2/2
Age: over 1
Size: Medium
Build: Obese
Companion 1: Raccoon, Male - Battle
Companion 2: Oversized Robin, Male - Flying
Mutation 1: Cat Claws - offensive
Skills: Beginner Healer & Expert Fighter

Aris felt a surge of satisfaction as her claws scored at her sister's side, and while she wasn't quite able to get the grasp on the leg she wanted she was pleased enough there too. Maybe a little too pleased; she got cocky. When Ophelia rose up in a rear Ari darted forward, thinking she could shove her sister over backwards while she was unbalanced and managed to run right into Ophie's clawed slaps. Pain drew a startled yip from the girl as blood welled bright red from one side of her muzzle and the opposite cheek, and oozed thickly from her nose. She continued her charge mostly out of momentum rather than forethought, but at least she'd aimed her shoulder for her sister's unprotected belly before she had the wits knocked out of herself. She didn't manage to throw in any other attack though, simply stumbling forward with eyes blurred by involuntary tears from the fiercely painful nose-bapping.



Aris vs Ophelia for spar
Round 2/2
Age: over 1 year
Size: Small
Build: Light
Companion 1: Black-footed cat, Female - Battle
Companion 2: Blue jay, Male - Flying
Mutation 1: Oversized canines - Offensive
Mutation 2: Cat claws - Offensive
Mutation 3: Spine bristles - Defensive
Skills: Beginner Healer & Beginner Fighter

And the winner is...

ARIS

OPHELIA must give up by submitting, fleeing or passing out. Totals: OPHELIA Attack Roll: 92 Defense Roll: 23 Agility Roll: 29 Perception Roll: 6 Total: 150 Attack[92] + 25% Bonus[23.00]: 115.00 Defense[23] + 0% Bonus[0.00]: 23.00 Agility[29] + -5% Bonus[-1.45]: 27.55 Perception[6] + 10% Bonus[0.60]: 6.60 Total[172.15] + 20% Bonus[34.43]: 206.58 ARIS Attack Roll: 87 Defense Roll: 6 Agility Roll: 93 Perception Roll: 10 Total: 196 Attack[87] + 25% Bonus[21.75]: 108.75 Defense[6] + 10% Bonus[0.60]: 6.60 Agility[93] + 10% Bonus[9.30]: 102.30 Perception[10] + 10% Bonus[1.00]: 11.00 Total[228.65] + 0% Bonus[0.00]: 228.65

Gossamer watched the fight unfold, trying to squash her nerves so that she could more appropriately assess her sisters. She flinched a bit when Ophelia's attack missed and Aris clocked her hard in the side with her claws. However, her heavier sister managed to rally and strike back. The fight was evenly matched but eventually it was Aris that came out on top. Gossamer knew she'd have to speak now. She cleared her throat. "Good fight! That was a close match. Congratulations, Aris. Ophelia, that was a really strong effort. I have a few notes to share from my observations."

She looked first to Ophelia. "Ophelia, good use of attacks, especially in close quarters. You might want to work more on your spacial awareness and perceiving where your opponent is in relation to you." Next Gossamer looked to Aris. "Your speed and agility are dang good. You used those talents really well in this fight. Just watch your defenses as you get into close combat." Uhhh… what else should she say. Gossamer liked to fight but boy she was uncertain how to teach it. "Is there anything in particular you both would like to learn or want me to be aware of?"

ooc: based the feedback off the dice rolls for fun, hope that's ok!