[Day 3] Sabre Round 3: Rex vs. Halle

if children
don't grow up
our bodies get bigger
but our hearts get torn up

Tigerius Rex —

Tiger Rex had handily won his next bout against the other District Two — he was absolutely on fire. It seemed they had run out of Twos for him to cut down, though, because this match was up against another Onner, albeit one Tiger hadn't heard of. Leandros Halle. At this point, the competition was almost entirely District One, which did not surprise Tiger very much. After all, he and his district were awesome. He shot his fellow Districtmate a winning grin and gave a flamboyant salute to the official, the crowd, and the boy across the strip.

Tiger hadn't even realized that he'd made it all the way to the Final Four — even if he lost this bout, he could still grab bronze. And if he won (which he certainly intended to, although it wouldn't be the end of the world if he didn't) then he was guaranteed silver, and even had a shot at gold. Not too shabby. Either way was all well and good for the career, who was enthused enough just to be here in the competition.


Current score: 0
+
Zjo6LIJV1-4

if children
don't grow up
our bodies get bigger
but our hearts get torn up

Tigerius Rex —

Leandros Halle had opened with a strong lead, scoring four touches in quick succession, in comparison to Tiger's mere one. The red haired boy was not bothered by the three point difference; if anything, the deficit was just large enough to push a better performance out of the seasoned career boy. And even if it wasn't, well — Leo had always teased him for being too stupid for nerves. Not that Tiger ever saw that as a negative; with too many thoughts going on, it would be far too tempting to falter.

Besides, his spirits were unshakably high — especially so late in the competition, when he'd already done so well. No, even total obliteration wouldn't rain on Tiger's one-member parade today — and he didn't expect to be obliterated at all. Even if he was a bit slow on the uptake, he always managed to get a good read on his opponents eventually and adjust accordingly. Oh, he'd do alright. And even if he didn't — the best thing about the Olympics was that they didn't ship you home in a wooden box even if you lost.

Current score: 1
+
CZNokbcP1-4

if children
don't grow up
our bodies get bigger
but our hearts get torn up

Tigerius Rex —

After casting a sideways glance at the scoreboard — keeping track was too much math, after all — Tiger was pleased to see that he'd managed to lessen the gap between him and the boy across the strip. He couldn't quite say how he'd done it — strategy was never his strong suit, that was always Leo's thing, or even Ty or Quin, but never the orange-haired eldest of the Brothers Rex. Sometimes he thought that might be to his benefit, because thinking and planning just slowed everything down, when Tiger just wanted to go and do more than anything else.

Besides, he'd drilled enough with blades that whatever didn't come naturally at first had been beaten into that thick skull of his. He didn't need to be a genius to be good — which he was. Or else, how'd he make it to the semi-finals already? He feigned a broad slash at the mask of the opponent he wasn't paying near enough mind to, then doubled back and took a cut at his wrist, earning a green light on his side of the strip. Awesome.

Current score: 5
+
JSA46lb31-4

if children
don't grow up
our bodies get bigger
but our hearts get torn up

Tigerius Rex —

The rhythmic back-and-forth of their bout, while soothing, did nothing to calm the ever-overeager redhead. He danced his way up and down the piste, charmed like a snake in a basket, sabre smacking against Halle's — and sometimes against Halle — with that stupid grin permanently etched into his features. Who would fault him for enjoying every minute of the bout, win or lose? It was a mark of good sportsmanship, at the very least. And though Halle was calm and quiet in comparison to the District One, he was a good sport too, which Tiger appreciated.

After all, no one wanted to fight with a sore loser, no matter how easy it was. The second things started going south, they'd get in their own heads and their doubts would bring them down. Tiger never practiced any sort of mental warfare — he wasn't good at it, and didn't enjoy being cruel to his opponents — but had no problem with them doing it to themselves.

Current score: 8
+
JMm6lNDm1-4

if children
don't grow up
our bodies get bigger
but our hearts get torn up

Tigerius Rex —

It dawned on Tiger that the match was actually coming to an end — he and Halle were both nearing the fifteen points required to bring the bout to an official close. It was the most exciting part of an already-exciting bout — to be that near to victory, or that near to defeat. Tiger didn't much mind either way. He wanted to win, of course, but Halle had been a genuine treat to fence with, and the redhead still had one more bout in front of him either way — whether it was the gold-medal or bronze-medal match.

Through the mesh of their masks, Tiger caught a glimpse of a smile peeking through his opponent's otherwise solemn demeanor. Ha, he thought, his own grin stretching even further. If he had a strength beyond fighting, it was his infectious high spirits. But the bout wasn't over until it was and Tiger Rex did not want to leave that piste until he absolutely had to.

Current score: 12
+
V2dDCyIR1-4