(Anyone is free to post way before Carolina does! This is just an open sparring session for people to come an watch c : )

He knew that this was going to go. He knew that he was going to get his ass beat, but part of him didn't really think that was all that unusual. He should be used to this by now considering all the different fighters he had come across in the years. York had once told that he had been the worst fighter out of the six of them. Which wasn't exactly wrong considering that he was better with firing off his rifle than hand to hand combat. The one that was greatest when it came to being in close combat would be Carolina herself. Something that Washington never really had experience with and never had the ideas of sparring with the likes of Carolina when he had just been perceived as the rookie. That didn't mean that he wasn't capable of taking care of himself though. He was a Freelancer after all, and if he wasn't capable of doing such then he would have gotten kicked out of the program a long time ago. They were capable of adapting to all sorts of different problems that were given to them, and it was because of that they were considered a threat by most of those that existed in their world. One half of the world was worried about the Great War that was going on, while the other half was worried about what Project Freelancer was going to end up doing next. He didn't know that he was fighting on the wrong side at the time, until he had arrived in the Ascendants where he was allowed to look through the new memories that had been given him. The Freelancer didn't exactly enjoy being stuck in this place, but he was going to adapt to it.

Something the smilodon hadn't exactly been the best at doing it when it came to fighting because it felt so unnatural for someone that wasn't even a hand to hand combat specialist to work on. Washington needed to learn how to fight in his current body, and he didn't care how rough it would end up being to get better than he was. His entrance exam into the project had nearly killed him. He could take it even if those that would be watching would be concerned about his well being. Carolina had managed to basically take him out when she had first appeared attacking him with ease, but now that he had more of a footing and had been training for at least an hour a day to get used to his body, he felt like he would have a little bit of an advantage. Washington didn't have his armor though, as she had managed to take him out with his armor on the first time so he thought that it wouldn't be that big of a deal to have the armor on him anyway. The Freelancer had stopped near the waterfall that was in the territory. He was a little bit early, but he was anxious to know what was going to happen and what everyone else was going to think about it. He didn't plan on winning, although he would try, he would be more focused on getting his paw movements better. Not knowing exactly how powerful his paw movements actually were. The armored smilodon sat himself down in the summered sun, looking in the direction of the waterfall that was there. It was nice. Almost calming. The spray that was coming from it cooling his body since it was prone to overheating if he was working too much. His shortened tail flicked, and he let out a short sigh as he waited for his sparring partner. "speech"

The Arabian leopard was easily dwarfed by the bigger feline, but it didn't faze her too much as she settled down nearby, tail swishing back and forth in anticipation, almost as if expecting, no, hoping, that a surprise attack would occur, but unfortunately, she was not to be included in this sparring session. This would definitely upset her greatly for a few moments, but still. Watching somebody spar didn't give that feeling of satisfaction when your attacks made contact, the feeling of skin ripping, the excitement and adrenline in your veins until your opponent was too injured to go on, or swallowed their pride, and forfeited. Or, in extreme cases, was killed. It didn't matter to Thea. As long as she won.

"What're you doing?" The younger child tilted her head, curious, making sure she was respecting his personal space, though, maybe if she didn't, he'd fight her. Pale eyes would settle on the male, curiousity lingering.

SUITE
HEART

Suiteheart was no stranger to sparring. It was a fun pastime for her. Back home, she was constantly combat training. It was something that soothed her mind. More than that, it helped all parties involved. There was always a learning aspect to these sorts of things, even if one didn't see it right away. Perhaps that was one reason she loved fighting so much: it gave rise to new knowledge.

"What's up guys?" the white feline questioned before taking a seat and then tucking her paws underneath her. Baby blue eyes held interest as she looked upon the trio gathered. There was tension and even excitement bursting to life in the air around them. She wondered what was about to take place.

© [color=black]MADI

There was always time to get better at something. There was plenty of time to correct the mistakes that were made, as most problems just didn't disappear overnight either. Washington knew that there was plenty of room for him to improve, but was it worth improving in a place like this? He didn't know exactly how long they were going to be here and he knew it would be beneficial to know how to fight in the first place. It was because of this that he had been working a little bit here and there and his reaction time had gotten better thanks to his practice. His reaction time had basically been what had saved him in the entirety of the Project Freelancer anyway. If he hadn't he would have gotten shot plenty of times over, but there were those that had better reactions time than him. Which he was fine with, as he had never wanted to be the best of the best. He was just there for his own survival and try to make things right.

Now though, he wanted to get better not only so that he could defend himself, but so that he could attack those that would be potential threats in the end. Freelancer against Freelancer. Friends against friends. There was no way they could get away from something like that, as they would always be drawn together again. One would hunt down the other and it would basically become an endless cycle all over again. There was no such thing as relaxing when it came to being a Freelancer. Something could always be done, although he was fairly certain the one that relaxed the most in the program was York himself. Having a calm demeanor when it came to anything that he was challenged with, which was probably the reason why he had ranked just under the top spot on the leaderboard just under Carolina even after his injury. Changes didn't happen overnight though, and he knew that his skills would be sub-par for what they used to be when he was a human again.

Part of him hoped that there wouldn't be any sort of audience that would gather as he didn't exactly make an announcement as to what was happening anyway. The Freelancer had his own schedule and rarely informed those on what his schedule actually consisted of. He was making leeway on getting some of his suit functions working again, and he was sure that he was getting close to the calendar function that was put inside of his suit. If he had an AI it would be quicker to get it done, but he didn't and he was limited to the resources that he already had. Not like he would let one of those damned things inside of his head anyway. He would be lying if he said that he wasn't tired. He almost always was tired thanks to his schedule keeping him from sleeping so that he didn't have to deal with his nightmares. Washington had to keep himself from yawning when he heard movement that was coming toward him. He wasn't that out of though to be snuck up on and he always had his guard up no matter where he was at. He turned his head to see a new face.

Thea. The leopard was a little bit interesting, but he hardly considered her a threat. He was a lot larger than her, and unless she had the speed that Carolina had it would mean that he could take her out with a swipe of his paw. The smilodon was about to open his mouth when others started to make their approach. Playerone, then Suitehaert. He moved into a standing position, craning his neck to the side until he heard a pop. He probably should have stretched beforehand. Did animals need to stretch to keep their muscles from locking up? Maybe. He wasn't sure though. At their question though he would answer before Carolina arrived. "I have it in my schedule to have a spar with Carolina today." Washington said calmly like he usually did, there was little to no emotion in the way that he usually spoke, defaulting to the deadpanned way that he always talked. Speaking of which, the leader of squad Alpha arrived exactly on time on the dot.

The former rookie watched as the leopards gaze looked over his form, not feeling awkward underneath the others gaze as he had seen it before in others. Sizing up an opponent and figuring out in their head what they were capable of. He did the same thing. His own gaze was hidden underneath his helmet as he looked at Carolina, and her form was obviously more lean that he was. Washington rolled her eyes at her comment, getting used to using his paws as he made a gesture with his right leg. "Seriously again with the weight comment? You're running out of material Boss." Washington joked back toward the fellow Freelancer. He had heard her say it before and it didn't really bother him. He had the size advantage and he was just going to have to get her close despite not being that great with close combat. His mental health up to this point had been fairly great so far, he hadn't had to deal with the voices or the hallucinations. He was getting better. At least that's what he was telling himself. The armored male positioned himself so that he was facing Carolina, his head craning again in the opposite direction so that he heard another pop.

He forced his muscle to relax so that he could figure out the situation when it happened. Washington expected that Carolina would talk to the rest of the group, and he followed her gaze as she looked toward Suiteheart. That was when the female launched her attack, and like last time he barely had time to react. He needed to get his body out of the way but he also wasn't that fast in such a large form. Washington was quick enough to duck underneath the paw that was destined for his head again. Attacking the head was a common attack after all and she had done it the first time that they met each other in this world. He wasn't going to fall for that again. As soon as he ducked though, he planned his counter-attack while Carolina's attack was still in the air. While he was lowered onto the ground, he would aim to launch his body in the direction of where Carolina was, hoping to slam his armored shoulder into her chest and hopefully knock her to the ground. She was faster than him though, and there was still a chance for her to dodge out of the way. If that worked, Washington wouldn't go after her, as he would become slightly cocky if his attack did hit. Shifting his weight from side to side where he would stand almost like an anxious boxer ready to deal another blow. "speech"