District Four Tournament Day One: Luna vs Ellesmere

what part

of living

Today was a day that you knew better than to drink any alcohol. Typically, it's what you did to ignore your troubles, but today wasn't a day of troubles. To impress your father, rather than being punished for nothing, you'd be competing in the District Four tournament. That's why you'd stayed sober. You needed to make a good performance.

Your career training was going to finally pay off.

Readying the trident that you'd been given, you could hear the cheers of the crowd. You didn't look at the crowd, though, as you couldn't afford any form of a distraction.

As the adrenaline pulsed through you, you lunged at your opponent, striking with your weapon.

says you

gotta die

what part

of living

Your first attack misses your foe by about an inch, and he attempts to connect his weapon with your flesh in response. You block his attack, though, his spear colliding with your trident instead of your body. You take a deep breath. You can't miss again. Missing isn't an option when you want to win a fight.

It's strange, actually using the skills you picked up as a career for a reason, especially because the whole reason you decided to become a career was so that no one questioned the bruises that were always on your body.

Your trident is at the ready again after blocking your opponent's strike, and you strike in return.

says you

gotta die

what part

of living

Your attack failed to connect once again, and the boy spoke a word to you that sounded too unfamiliar for you to figure out what he was saying. You weren't going to let yourself be distracted by thinking on it too much, though. The boy's spear missed you, neither of you having landed an attack yet, and it was starting to get a bit frustrating. To win, you couldn't keep missing.

Apparently, it didn't matter that you hadn't had anything to drink today. Your hangover from yesterday must have been getting to you more than you expected it to. Trying your best to ignore the looming headache you had, you focused on your target again. Your trident was going to connect this time. It had to.

says you

gotta die

what part

of living

You still can't hit a thing. Your father would call you pathetic. He'd probably punish you for it, too. If you lost this tournament in the first round, things certainly wouldn't go over well at home.

The next attack the boy makes catches you off guard.

He connects, and you feel a stinging sensation in your bicep. You grunt as you respond to his hit with a quick retort using your own weapon. The trident you hold is ready to draw blood. You just have to let it. Although, that seems to have come with some difficulty so far. You weren't going to just give up though. That's not who you were. At least, you didn't think so, but your father would disagree.

says you

gotta die

what part

of living

He blocks your strike in a similar fashion to how you'd blocked his first one. Then, once again, his spear cuts into your flesh. You couldn't move out of the way in time to avoid it, and now you were getting frustrated at yourself.

Damn it, Zed, pull yourself together, you thought to yourself. You take a step back and ready yourself to strike again.

"Hnnnng!" you yell out as you get ready to deliver a strike towards the boy's chest. You were going to connect this time. You had to. He was winning, and you couldn't just let that happen without hitting him at least once.

says you

gotta die

what part

of living

You cut into his calf, and although it wasn't quite where you had been aiming for, you were happy to have finally connected an attack with his flesh. Your opponent then launched another attack, and you blocked it with your trident this time. Perhaps things were turning around for the better, but that was still to be seen. You couldn't let your guard down.

No distractions were allowed if you wanted to win, so you couldn't get overconfident now that you'd hit him.

You have to show your strength. You can't let all of District Four watch and think you're weak or that you're incapable. You're a fighter. You're a career. You have to show them that.

says you

gotta die

what part

of living

You fail to hit him again. He strikes you again. Now, you have a serious feeling that you’re going to lose this match. You look at the boy with a sharp glare and get ready to plunge your trident into him. You want that rush you felt when you hit him the first time back again. Unfortunately, that first hit gave you a bit too much confidence, and now you’re starting to falter. You can’t keep letting your guard down. Although, it may be too late to change the direction of this fight.

”You’re putting up a decent fight,” you huff out between breaths.

Then, your trident glides toward him again, ready to cut him open.

says you

gotta die