A stroll through the woods.. [OPEN]

It was fair to say Lia wasn't in a good mood. She had gotten her ass kicked in training by a kid two years older than her, and her trainer offered no sense of help as he watched her struggle to her feet. Sure, she was going to be sore, but it was her ego that was bruised and that she worried about more. The adrenaline coursed through her veins but she had no means of releasing-- and then she saw it. The bright gleam of what could only be a weapon, and she knew that this was a chance for her to rebuild that ego. "Hey, you! Want to practice with that thing?" Lia drew out her knife and nodded at the boy, letting him know that she was ready if he was willing.

He was mumbling, stuttering, struggling. This kid was no fighter, Lia could see that much and she could either play that to her advantage and beat the kid up brutally, or she could go easy on him. A part of her pitied him: the sword must not have been his own, not with the way he was holding it. There was no finesse, no strength, no coordination. If anything, that one swing--which she easily blocked--was the most chaotic sight she had ever seen. She pulled out both knives and decided she would take pity on him. If this was going to just be a practice, she might as well work with two knives.

She had to give it to him: he was starting to get a feel from the sword. But the gash on the back of her head was nothing compared to the bone-crunching, deep muscles slices she was used to. Part of her training had been to evade that; she was only partly complete. It stung like hell, but that didn't deter her from attacking him again, hoping that her technique had improved since her last attack. The last thing she wanted was to be embarrassed twice in a row.

He was quick, and with the sword no longer holding him back, Lia was at a significant disadvantage. This time, he was able to cut her arm. Not enough for her to drop the knife in her left hand, but the sting was sharp and the metal was cold. She would have to rethink her strategy, reorient herself, if she was going to look less like a fool. She readjusted her grip on the knives and swung both of them again. Just take a breath before attacking.

She had let the emotions get the best of her, but it made her realize to what strengths she could play. While her first knife missed, the second one made some damage by creating a deep wound at his chest. It wasn't a pretty sight, seeing blood mix with pus, but Lia had been in such a blind rage that she had went for it. There was no point in saying sorry; they both knew the consequences of fighting with sharpened blades. That was why when he hit her arm again--just a few inches lower than the previous cut--Lia only gritted her teeth and prepared for the next attack. She hoped she could do more damage without relying on a distraction to aid her, but she would take what she could get to make it through this fight.

She regretted underestimating him. Whatever incompetence he was showing in the beginning, he had overcome and was now landing some deadly hits on her. He managed to catch her while her back was to him--the first mistake she made--and he got her where she couldn't protect. The blood dripping down was enough to tell her that she was losing a fair amount of blood and would require some stitches to close the wound. That didn't stop her from going on--it'll be worse than this in the Games, if I'm reaped.

-I'm gonna filler this because Proboards is a butt and seems to think I'm dragging and dropping attachments all over the place and I lost the post, and as much as a paragraph isn't really much to write, I'm still pissed-