Learn Your Own Definition of Tenacity

Cara knocked on the door of Luca's room. It startled her awake and she fumbled through her bedsheets to get up and get to the door to open it.

"If this is Rambone, I'm going to beat your as-" She grumbled. "Oh, hey. What's up."

She rubbed her eyes.

"Hey sleepyhead, don't forget your match is today," Cara gave her a gentle look and smile. "Take a look at your folder. Information on your opponent should be on there. Rambone told me his match is tomorrow, so you can cheer him on then."

Cara then proceeded to walk in. She was wearing her uniform with a light pink long-sleeved shirt over it.

"Alright."

"Can you tell me what time your match is?"

Luca groggily walked over to the folder on her dresser and opened it up.

"2 PM."

"I'll see you just before then."

"Ok."

"How are you feeling though?"

"Tired." Luca quietly chuckled to herself.

Cara then walked out the door and down the hallway, and out of her sight.

Time then passed quickly yet slowly for the 3 of them. They ate, did some stretches, and talked about their opponent for a bit.

"A fellow newbie, huh?" Rambone questioned, interested. "Seems you got a fairer match than I did."

She nodded her head. "Yeah, thank fuckin' god."

"Hey, how about we save the language for the match itself?" Cara kindly scolded. "You can swear all you want then."

"Sure."

"Good." She nodded. "Rambone, can you leave the room for a bit?"

"Gotcha." He then left the room.

She then motioned over to Luca to sit next to her on a nearby bench. She followed.

"Your match is about to start. Keep in mind of what I told you: Grip it, cross them, and then tie it."

"I think that's how you tie a shoe."

"No, I told you to grip it, cross them, and then tie it."

"That's how you a tie a shoe. You're telling me how to tie a shoe right now."

"No, I'm telling you what to keep in mind."

"You're literally telling me how to tie a shoe! You are just telling me how to tie a shoe!"

"No, that's not what I told you, Dunka."

"That's not my name either!"

"Oh well, your match is about to start. Get your sword and get out there!"

Luca got up and walked across the room to grab your sword. It's a short sword with a short handle built for one-handed use. It was wooden and dull. The hilt was not a circular shape, instead opting for a slightly less blunt option of a sharp (still it had been made blunt to combat serious injury) end, like that of the sharp point of a sword.

"Such a clunky sword piece of junk." She thought to herself as she held it in her right hand. "At least the handle's nice."

She stepped into the readying gate and took a deep breath.

A referee motioned her over to the gate at the opposite end of the room.

"This is your first time in a match in the arena. Once the gates are open, you will introduce yourself to your opponent and then you may begin fighting. There will be a 20-minute time limit, and if one of you is not knocked out before then, then we will decide the winner. Dealing serious or mortal injury to them will result in severe penalties and punishment. You understand that, hun?" They said, almost robotically.

She nodded.

"Good. It will open shortly." The referee then jogged over to an outer spot of the large circular ring they would be fighting in.

Before the gates would open, a flashback from earlier briefly ran through her head.

"Don't forget this. I'll remind you about it later. Grip it, cross them, and then tie it." Cara instructed her.

Luca shook her head. "Nope, wait, that ain't it."

"Crack it, add it to the pan, and cover it."

"Nope, that's not it either. That's how to make eggs."

"Cut through their blade. Your sword is built to be much more durable compared to his rapier."

"Yep, got it." She thought to herself.

The gates then opened. The two of them walked out and towards each other. He shifted the rapier in his hands to his left to shake her left hand. They met each other in height.

"'ey. I'm Auden. Nice to meet you."

"I'm Luca. Nice to meet you, too. Good luck."

"You too."

He shifted his rapier back into his right as they went to their ends to let the match begin.

Before the whistle blew, she took a deep breath to calm herself down. She was still nervous because she had never once fought before in her life. Not even against small animals.

At the same time, Rambone and Cara sat down in their seats.

Rambone looked around. "Not many people in attendance here."

"Yeah, that's obvious. You should know that barely anyone wants to watch an early afternoon match between two newbs. However, I'm very excited to see how the teaching of my young stud will turn out!" She said excitedly.

"I mean, I'm excited too. But I'm nervous for her, y'know?"

"It's beginner's nerves. Relax."

"Bro, never in my life have I seen someone call it that."

"Then what do you call it?"

"Uhh..." He took a moment to think before coming up blank. "Not that I know off the top of my head."

"Then I can call it whatever I want then, Rambone. You see my point?"

He hesitantly nodded his head, still not fully understanding the gist of what she had said.

The whistle then blew. They both started by pacing around the outer end in a counterclockwise direction, waiting for the other to make the first move.

The timer ticked down to 18:47.

Then the first one made the move to charge at the other. It was Auden.

Luca nearly panicked but gave in and charged at him.

The two met at the center and the swords immediately met each other.

Auden nearly landed the blow but was countered by a clever reaction strike that sent the rapier's blade up and away from her. Before he had time to react, she struck him with a forward strike at his stomach, blowing him back a few feet.

The timer ticked down to 18:05. And the fighting and clashing of their swords were underway.