Ax practice (Kyra)

What happened next, Kyra would have never anticipated. After a few more strikes from her ax, Lucille changed tactic. She thrust her knee up towards Kyra's stomach, and even though she tried to dodge away, the blow striking right where Lucille had wanted it.

Kyra doubled over, the wind forced from her. She nearly dropped her sword as she fell to one knee, trying to catch her breath. Out of the corner of her eye, she glimpsed Lucille readying herself to deal the final blow.

Without thinking, Kyra rolled to the side, Lucille barely missing her head. She scrambled to her feet, air finally returning to her lungs.

Despite the pain from the prior blow, Kyra grinned wildly. She was breathing heavily, but she just managed to say, "It's gonna take a lot more... To get me down."

Kyra swung her sword viciously upwards, aiming to knock the ax from Lucile's hand.

Lucille's ax flew from her hand, clattering to the ground a few feet away. Kyra lowered her sword slightly in triumph, smirking. She was about to raise her sword tip to her opponent's throat, but Lucille once again surprised her.

Before she knew it, Lucille whipped her hand right towards Kyra's face, and it was all she could do to avoid getting socked in the most. She leaned back, overbalanced, and fell onto her back, her sword falling from her grasp.

Lucille lunged for her ax, and Kyra grabbed at her sword. If she didn't get back up in time, Lucille would have a vital advantage over her. And she couldn't let that happen.

At least, she'd try to not let it happen.

There was good news, and there was bad news. The good news was, Kyra reached her sword before Lucille pinned her down. The bad news was... well, exactly that. Lucille had gotten her pinned like it was as easy and simple as breathing.

Kyra struggled to break free, but her sword arm was partially pinned beneath her. There wasn't much she could do without her sword, but she couldn't just give up.

Sure, Lucille was a talented warrior, especially for someone with the conditions she had to deal with. Kyra was extremely impressed. It wouldn't be such a shame to lose to Lucille, but she couldn't back down. Not yet, at least.

At the moment, the only thing Kyra could think of was getting back on her feet. But Lucille had her pinned well, and there was nothing she could do. Submitting was the only real option. That, and foul play.

But that wasn't even a choice to Kyra. Sure her siblings would throw dirt in their opponents eyes to momentarily stun them, but that was just cruel. She could never bring herself to do that. All her siblings knew that too. They were just too afraid to confront her about it, because they knew she would give them a fair beating in the arena for it.

With a blade at her throat and her sword arm pinned, Kyra sighed. Lucille had bested her. With a shrug, she said, "I submit. You won."

Kyra accepted the hand up, brushing the dust off her jeans. "And same to you. That was pretty impressive." She chuckled, and walked over to where her sword had fallen. Picking it up, she strapped it to her waist. "Not many campers can say they've bested be in a duel." She paused, considering her next words. "They all had both their hands as well."

She didn't want to offend Lucille, but it was pretty awesome that she'd beaten her, even with her handicap. Kyra's pride wasn't damaged at all, either. It was more of an honor to be able to even fight her.

Kyra nodded, grinning slightly. "Definitely. It'll be good for me to be put in my place once in a while."

She took her bronze longsword from its sheath and pretended to examine it profusely. "I think you put a few knicks in my blade. Better than anyone's ever done before. Even my siblings."