Battles Won and Lost

The younger and less experienced of the river defense had obtained great success in the three-day campaign. The fighting had taken place in four waves, and the ocelot was pleased with all of them. She and the greyhound had done much of the direction involved, but all had done their part with exquisite efficiency. And the raccoon had only insulted a fellow defender once.

In the first wave, all fell into their places easily. They had maneuvered as one body and had executed their plans perfectly. They gave up five lengths of water in the dispute, but they had gained ten. The first clash had ended most beneficially. Morale was high for hours.

The second wave was slow in coming and the attackers were hesitant. The greyhound took full advantage and gained them many lengths in the beginning. In turns, every defender that was present gained the battalion ground. They gave up only two lengths and gained seventeen.

The third wave was a more difficult confrontation for the defenders. Clouds covered the sky and visibility was down. The wind buffeted both sides, but the attackers seemed more prepared for it. It took time for the defenders to adjust and the invaders began with the advantage. But the defenders did not let their opposition walk all over them after that. Every step forward was fended off, every attempt to advance was thwarted. In the end, it was only due to the early advantage that the attackers ended better off. Both sides parted exhausted.

Before the fourth wave came, the defenders took time to rest. Many slept, relaxing tensed muscles. Some licked wounds and some scavanged for food. The greyhound was set on first watch, but soon she too took time to breathe easy. The prickly-tempered kite was out scouting, so they didn't have any reason to worry.

All too soon, the kite returned, trumpeting the approach of the fourth wave. The company knew this would be the last encounter and prepared to give their all. The kite had given them plenty of warning, so when the invaders arrived, they were more than ready.

But alas, the weariness of so many encounters was beginning to set in and the company wavered in their composition. The invaders were fresh, and the skirmish was a fierce one. Rain began to impair their vision and a thick fog made it worse. But the defenders salvaged themselves in time to throw off the final attack, if only by a slight portion.

The younger defenders returned victorious, and they finally had their own battle-tales to tell the elder ones.

In translation, (I'm not sure anyone who wasn't there the past three days would understand this at all) in the JV state tournament, we won our first game 10-5 and we played together excellently. The second game we won 17-2 and it got to the point that our coach pulled the greyhound and me for the last quarter. The third game we lost by one, and we were at an outdoor pool so the inclement weather was beginning to be frustrating. In the fourth game (the consolation game for 3rd place) we won by one, but we accidentally scored one of the other team's goals and we threw them the ball a lot. The last game was played in the rain and the pool was steaming. The third and fourth games were played on the same day, and most of us had been to a swim meet before. Why I swam the 200 meter butterfly while I was there I'll never know. We took third in state, and this is the first year we've even had a JV team to send.