[Day 3] Sabre Round 3: Sumner vs. Ghram

He had moved on in sabre again, onto the next round and one step closer to a medal. There was no way to tell if his skill would measure up, each round destined to be more difficult as the better swordsmen trickled through. Each round took him to the edge of losing before he brought it back and there was no reason why this would be any different. It was interesting to see a District four handling a sword, what with their main weapons being tridents, but it seemed the other boy was well enough with it to slash him four times. He had to focus, to draw on his reserves of patience and skill in order to keep himself moving forward. After his defeat in epee to a young boy he was feeling desperate to show he was still a hand with a sword. Even after giving little thought towards training and practice he should still be able to use a weapon like this as an extension of his arm. No odd losses would change that.

At least this time his opponent wasn't a little boy.

It was not starting off well, he had only scored one point and now this other boy had slashed at him seven successful times. It was time to breathe, to focus, to keep the gap between their scores from growing any larger. There was still time to make a comeback from this, since the match was just beginning, and he would have to see that he would do just that. If he lost this then he knew he would begin to question himself again, more than he had before. With no one to turn to and little faith in himself as it was, if he failed in something as close to his heart as sword fighting he would once again lose his confidence. He couldn't let himself go through that again, it was hard enough the first time when he could blame someone else, but this time he would have no one to blame but himself.

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Total score: 5

As long as he continued to match this boy blow for blow, or surpass him - which would be better - he would have a shot of besting him. The sword was beginning to feel more and more like an old friend, one that he hadn't spoken with in a long time and was finally able to catch up with. It was nice to hear about how things had been, and now that he was able to share some of what had happened to him, even as memories with a sword that could never understand, he felt lighter. Standing on the balls of his feet he watched the boy across from him, eyeing any possible openings in order to take advantage of them. It was time that he took the lead.

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Total score: 7

He was lost - no that wasn't right, he had lost, but perhaps both were true. With only one point more to be scored by his opponent and no way he could possibly catch up in that time, he let the stone settle into the bottom of his stomach. It hurt, an almost physical pain, that he had failed not only his District but himself. Perhaps this was why nothing seemed to go right for him; he was a failure. He couldn't keep a girlfriend, he was beaten at his own sport by a fishmonger, and surely other numerable things. Even if that wasn't the case, his own negativity should have been more than enough of a clue that things were not headed in his favour.

He took a breath and supposed he should get this over with.

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Total score: 8

It was a meager single touch, but at this point he could have gotten the biggest combo in his life and it wouldn't have saved him. If anything, it was only fitting that he performed so poorly in the end. He should have seen it coming, really. Rolex Ghram was nothing but a loser anymore.