Post by dsb on Oct 19, 2018 22:22:49 GMT
The crowds always increased their buzz when a new match was being announced, but this time there seemed to be some increased chatter at the prospect of seeing the resolution of a rivalry which had been brief but become increasingly brutal over the last few months. Tonight was the culmination of a trilogy in which, so far, neither woman had managed to get a completely decisive victory over the other, lending the ‘Mania event an extra edge of interest to see how the cards would eventually fall.
The announcer’s voice cut over the clamour. “Ladies and gentlemen! Our next contest is scheduled for one fall with a thirty minute time limit! Please welcome first, hailing from Santa Fe, New Mexico, she stands at five feet and ten inches tall and weighs in at one hundred and forty pounds…representing…uh…FIC, she is known as the Hollow Girl…HARRIET LARKIN!
A friend in need’s a friend indeed
PURE MORNING
www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIxx2NZUUco
Out onto the ramp strode a tall, pale redhead, clad in a white blouse with a clearly visible black lacy bra and a plaid skirt which was oooonly just long enough to not be classed as a belt. Larkin had her long red hair loose below her shoulders and took a second to give a slightly knowing grin round at the audience before heading off towards the ring.
HARRIET LARKIN
Behind her not one but two other figures emerged. The first was expected, Lyra Faulk looking as if she had just walked out of a nightclub and dancing to a beat only she could hear. But there was also another woman, a svelte looking woman tight orange-red shorts and a white cropped hoody done u to cover her face in shadow. Both women set off behind Larkin, but Faulk fairly quickly caught up with her, grabbing one of the redhead’s hands just before she reached ringside.
Faulk snatched that hand greedily and used it to tug her partner in for a brief but extremely intimate kiss on the lips. Larkin pulled away after a few seconds, raising her head to give the camera a first view of her face, especially those two chevrons of bronze and copper facepaint drawn over her left eye. She flashed a smile at Faulk and stepped away, nodding at the stranger and receiving a nod in return. But then both the Chaos Emerald and the stranger turned, very pointedly walking back up the ramp and out of the auditorium, neither one looking back.
Left alone, Harriet climbed up into the ring and turned, making sure to jeep the ramp in full view as she awaited the unfortunately doomed Raven who would shortly be emerging from it.
Al had just finished his inspection of Larkin’s pads and boots (all without losing fingers or teeth, a fact of which the official was understandably proud) when the Announcer called, “And introducing her opponent, hailing from Glen Echo Michigan, she stands at five feet seven inches tall and weighs in at one hundred and thirty-one pounds. Representing the Black Court, they call her the Raven… LENORE LEMARCHAND!”
Kula Shaker’s ‘Hush’ winged its way into the arena and a massive unkindness of ’Ravens’ took wing went up, Lemarchand’s ’unkindness’ larger than ever on this balmy ’Mania evening. The sold out throng cheered all the louder when the Fair & Radiant Maiden stepped into on the tail end of the Announcer’s proclamation. During their first two encounters, Lenore made a point to sweep the audience for any sign of Lyra Faulk. Tonight her eyes were for no one but the Hollow Girl as hooked her thumbs together and hoisted the Raven sigil directly overhead. This called forth even more stately birds of yore, not to mention a thunderous ‘NEVERMORE!’ chant.
LENORE LEMARCHAND:
For tonight’s high stakes rubber match with the Engine of Entropy, Lenore chose strappy bikini bottoms hued in a purplish-black and emblazoned with a faint design that careful inspection revealed as feathers. Her top was halter style, with the color and pattern matching her briefs, while her elbow and kneepads were matte black, the latter still obscured by loose, bell-flared 'leggings' that started just south of mid-thigh and dropped to ankle length. Those leggings were also black and featured a stylized version of Lemarchand’s raven insignia done in stark white. Her look was finished with shiny black boots and purple wrist tape that matched her togs.
Taking her eyes off Larkin for even a moment was almost impossible, yet Lenore did exactly that to acknowledge a sign reading:
‘Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December; when the Raven smote a vicious redhead upon the canvas floor.’
“I applaud the sentiment, but rest assured I’m going to smite the dancehall anarchist upon a hell of a lot more than just a canvas floor.” That seemed to please the sign holder, not that Lemarchand stuck around to gauge his reaction. Rather she spun away and broke into a limber run that brought her under the bottom rope in a matter of heartbeats. On her feet immediately thereafter, she stormed to the center of the squared circle and raised the Raven one more time, her eyes never leaving those of one Harriet Larkin.
Neither woman moved when the bell sounded, despite the copious amount of bad blood built between them over the last three months. This delay wasn’t intended to invoke support or vitriol from the crowd, nor was it a moment to ruminate over the career implications of a match upon FAWN’s grandest stage. In truth it was nothing more than a bit of last second study, Larkin and Lemarchand searching her opponent’s dark eyes for any sign of hesitancy or weakness. Simultaneously pleased and irritated to find none over the course of perhaps five seconds, the pair of rivals strolled to the center of the squared circle for a closer look.
“Couldn’t leave well enough alone, could you, magpie?” Harriet asked with only the slightest hint of amusement. “Either you don’t yet understand that this game is mine to end any time I choose, or you simply don’t care. I hope it’s the former. Because I’m going to savor that realization when it finally passes across your snotty little--”
Lenore turned her head with a whip-crack Bytch Slap, the Raven’s paddle-stiff palm connecting solidly with the big redhead’s right cheek. “You’re the one living in the dark, Larkin.” she murmured. “Still thinking I’m afraid of you. I’ll take that from you far sooner than you’d imagine. And when I doUUUNNNGGHHH OOOFFFHH!”
The Hollow Girl caught Lemarchand in the navel with a heavy right hand that doubled the brunette over just enough to make a double handful of hair quite enticing. Backing toward her corner with Lenore in tow, Larkin twisted her hips and slung the shorter woman against the buckles with a heavy BWUUUNG! Lenore hit hard enough to put a deep bend in her knees but she also hooked her arms over the top rope to keep her “UUUGGGHH!” Larkin rushed in with a truncated Avalanche Splash which more than made up in power whatever it might’ve lacked in distance.
BIEL & AVALANCHE SPLASH:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bX4yu3PMviI
The full body collision dropped Lemarchand to her butt with a soft ‘thump’ and Harriet was right there to make a rough start even worse with half a dozen heavy stomps administered directly to her rival’s chest and tummy. Lenore covered up as best she could, which unfortunately didn’t amount to much when Larkin snatched hold of the top rope in both hands and planted both feet on the Courtier’s chest. Yanking up on the rubber-coated steel even as she gouged her heels into Lenore’s squirming sternum, Harriet noted, “Eliot once said he measured his life in coffee spoons. I think I’ll measure yours in panicked little whimpers.”
A brutally noble endeavor indeed, alas she didn’t get very far before Craig Long strode over and demanded, “Out of the corner, Harriet! Now!”
Larkin countered with a smile and a renewed effort to jounce every bit of her hundred and forty pounds through the chest of Emily’s Lady in Waiting.
Not about to let the leggy anarchist challenge his authority so early in the contest, Craig started in with a count that Harriet extended all the way to ‘FOUR!’
Larkin hopped off her unwilling doormat with a cheeky little flourish that curdled into a withering glare when it fell upon the official. “Keep your distance, little man. This war is ours to wage however we see fit.” In this case that meant burying both hands in Lemarchand’s hair so she could “NNNNNNGGGGGGHH!”
Lenore cupped the redhead’s ears as she came up, all the better to tuck her head beneath Harriet’s chin and drop to one knee to rattle the Hollow Girl’s fillings with a quick Jawbreaker. Larkin stumbled backward with both hands pressed to her mouth, meaning she didn’t note the kick until Lenore THWHAPPED it home just above her left knee!
Harriet growled, straightened up and glared a hole through Lenore. “That shyt again? You aren’t strong enough to take my knee, bird brain. But since you’re so eager to try…” the big redhead took two steps back, planted her left leg in front and slapped that thigh with one hand. “C’mon princess.” Harriet laced her hands behind her head, effectively giving Lemarchand a free shot at the exposed joint. “Take your best shot before I take mine and your goddamned face lands in the upper deHHUUURRRK!”
Fundamentally opposed to the idea of rejecting such a generous gift, Lenore raised a knee for a second leg kick only to lunge forward and jam the fingertips of her right hand into the hollow of Harriet’s throat! Rasping in surprise and rage, Harriet turned away from the cheap shot only to hit the deck a heartbeat later when the Raven came in low with a Chop Block that smashed against the pit of her left knee!
CHOP BLOCK:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eVcJr_Ph8A
“GUTLESS WHORE!” Larkin roared as she came down on all fours within easy grabbin’ distance from the nearest ropes. “You’ll suffer for NNNNGGGGHH!”
In no mood for Harriet’s moral assessment of the situation, the Fair & Radiant Maiden clamped down on the redhead’s left ankle and hauled her up in what have been an impressive handstand if she hadn’t immediately dropped to her knees to THWHUNK Harriet’s tingling left knee into the thinly-sheathed plywood as hard as she could! The power behind that Stump Puller should’ve sent Larkin rolling under the bottom rope to recuperate on the outside, so of course she spun into a seat against the strands before using them to haul herself all the way to verti-- “Eeeerrrrrhhhhh…. get offa me you little GUUURRRHHHH!”
Lenore shouldered her way into Harriet’s midsection, knocking the redhead’s torso between the top and middle ropes for what would’ve been an unpleasant tumble to the floor if the Hollow Girl hadn’t hooked her arms over the uppermost strand to anchor herself in place. What Harriet didn’t know was that Lenore had counted on her instinct for self preservation kicking in in this exact fashion, but she recognized her mistake when the Raven laced both hands across the back of her foe’s noggin and twisted it sideways securing a Cravate. Still not done, Lenore dropped into a deep crouch, effectively throttling the larger woman against the rubber-coated steel. Barely aware of the hitch and burn in her compressed windpipe, Harriet filled her hands with the brunette’s hair and pulled like she meant to scalp her on the spot.
Lenore hissed, bared her teeth and began to drag Harriet’s neck back n’ forth against the top rope. “Go on, tuff girl.” she sneered. “Let’s see you call for back-up n--”
“ALL RIGHT, BREAK THOSE HOLDS YOU TWO!” Craig barked. “I MEAN IT! ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!”
Harriet let loose a split-second before Lenore, meaning the Courtier had just enough time to stand up and THWHONK a single high Kneelift between Larkin’s eyes! Harriet’s head snapped backward but her grip on the ropes didn’t waver so she remained safely in place, at least until Lemarchand spun around, leapt off her left foot and THWHACKED the right against the New Mexican’s temple! The Spin Kick finally knocked Larkin free from the strands but she STILL didn’t reach the floor thanks to a fortuitous albeit rather awkward landing on the apron.
ROPE HUNG CRAVATE & SPIN KICK:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Xca40N2KsE
Lined up on the other side of the strands, Lenore grabbed the top in both hands and said, “This reminds me of one of my favorite Poe quotes. Bytch, get outta my ring.” She hopped up and came back down with a quick Dropkick to Larkin’s shoulder and hip that finally sent the FIC lass to the floor with a heavy THUMP!
Backing off to claim the ring as hers and hers alone, Lemarchand hooked her thumbs together and raised the Raven to the rafters. Aside from being deeply satisfying on a professional and personal level, the resultant cheer also roused Harriet from her stupor, as evidenced by the hand Lenore spied pawing at the edge of the apron. “Don’t rush yourself, Harriet.” she purred. “I’ll come to you.” With that she wheeled around and raced to the far side of the squared circle before heading back the way she came on a beeline for the Hollow Girl.
Despite having a distinctly avian nickname, it was relatively rare for Lenore to take to the skies, although this only led to more anticipation form the audience on the occasions that she did. As such the Raven was roared on by the crowd as she crossed the ring in a flat sprint and took to ebon wings. She soared through the gap between the middle ant top ropes, ready to crash into the recovering redhead at ringside.
But whether it was the extra noise or just the fact that she had spent the last two months battling Lemarchand, it seemed that Harriet had her scouted, ducking away from the brunette’s swan-dive at the last possible moment. Lenore still had the presence to turn a graceful flip, thus landing in a sort of rolling crouch and avoiding a painful crash into the crowd barrier, but she turned around straight into a raised Big Boot which thumped into her collarbone and put her on her ass!
“You seriously think you’re going to surprise me with that shyt?” Larkin asked mock-incredulously, reaching down to haul her back up again. Lenore was happy to go along with her right up until the point when she flicked a boot out to jab into the taller woman’s knee, but the only response she got from this was a hiss of annoyance swiftly followed by a piston-fast kneelift to the gut which doubled her over.
“I’ve been watching you pull that crap for two months” Harriet advised the huffing Raven. She ducked after her, tucking in on one side and bodying the Raven up into a neat little package. She was only held there for a second though, Larkin turning a quarter circle and falling to her back. Lemarchand was dropped onto the ring apron spine-first, bouncing off and flopping onto the floor as the Hollow Girl scrambled up to stand over her.
APRON BACK SUPLEX
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYG4RW8Jt7Y
With the Courtier slopped on the ringside matting clutching at her spine, Harriet took a second to brush the hair out of her eyes and glanced up at the slightly anxious-looking figure of Al Carpenter up in the ring. “Get her back up here Harriet!” he demanded loudly. Larkin’s only response was to flash an insolent smile in his direction before reaching down to grab two handfuls of purple top.
This time Lemarchand wasn’t so much pulled to her feet as she was dragged, the Hollow Girl turning as she lifted and just bodily shoving her into the crowd barricade. The small of her back clanged uncomfortably into the barely-padded steel, but this small hurt was magnified a hundredfold when Larkin took two fast steps and leaped off one foot, bringing that knee up to sandwich Lenore’s core between the joint and the steel. The brunette let out an involuntary ‘whoulff’ noise and dropped to a slumping seat at the bottom of the barricade.
Whatever plans Larkin might have had next were put on hold by the sound of Al Carpenter shouting “FIFTEEN” from up in the ring. For a second the redhead stood stock still in annoyance then she stormed over to the apron, hopped up and rolled under the bottom rope. Carpenter’s look was initially relief, which swiftly gave way to anger when Larkin simply looked up, flicked a middle-fingered salute in his direction, and rolled straight back out the way she had come.
Stomping back over towards the slumped Raven, Harriet reached down and took a handful of hair, lifting upwards and then flicking a boot out to bury once more into her gut. With Lenore bent forwards again the powerful redhead reached forwards and wrapped around her waist, bending her knees to lift up into another suplex position and turning as she did so until she was facing the ring post. But whatever plans she had for that exposed steel were thwarted when Lenore gave a sudden burst of energy to wriggle free and drop down behind the Hollow Girl. And she made the most of it, giving a neat little shove which propelled Larkin forwards into a face-first collusion with the unforgiving metal!
Taken unawares by the swiftness of the counter, Larkin slammed clean into that steel and bounced off, turning around with a dazed look in her eyes. And that was all the opening Lenore needed, jogging forwards and CAROMING a perfectly-placed Enziguiri into the redhead’s jaw. Larkin went down in a heap by the ring apron while Lenore rose, dusted herself of and gave a slight nod to acknowledge the deafening appreciation of the ringside fans.
But unlike Larkin this wasn’t the first time the Raven had appeared on the biggest show in wrestling, and that veteran experience told her to stay focussed. To that end she stepped over to the hurting newbie and dragged her up, slamming a quick forearm into her collarbone and then stuffing her knee up into Harriet’s ribs. “I’ve gotta admit that apron suplex was a nice touch,” she admitted to the penitent redhead. “Your execution was a little off though. Let me show you how it’s done.” Before Harriet could launch a counter the raven reached down to hook around her body and then powered upwards, demonstrating all that sinewy strength to send the FlC girl up into the air. But unlike the rookie’s attempt Lenore let go almost immediately, using her grip to spin the bigger woman around so that the back of her neck crashed down into the apron with spine-shattering force!
APRON X-PLEX
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlEfS9--Cso
The wet sound Larkin made as she hit that reinforced wood made it clear she wasn’t going anywhere under her own steam for a while, but Lenore gave her a couple of big shoves to get her under the rope and back into the ring, following quickly after her. The was the work of a second to pile on top of the devastated redhead and hook both legs, Harriet stacked on her shoulders with her derriere high in the air as Carpenter counted…
ONE
TWO
A crunch of her core was just enough for Harriet to push herself loose, her legs coming over her head to leave the hurting FLC girl on her front. If Lenore was disappointed to not get the pin right there she didn’t show it, instead knee-walking over to a high mount over the supine redhead. “Remember how we first met, dear?” she asked. Harriet’s only response was to put both hands on the matt and push up, trying to buck Emily’s Lady in Waiting off and failing miserably as Lenore just raised her tush a little and then dropped it down hard into the small of Larkin’s back. “It occurs to me that I’ve never actually paid you abck for that little misdemeanour” Lemarchand mused, “maybe it’s time to correct that.” She leaned forwards, looping one hand around Larkin’s throat while the other bent at the elbow, driving the poit of it into the already hurting area at the top of the grunting battler’s spine!
The response was immediate, Larkin letting out a groan and pushing up again. But with Lenore’s full weight bearing down on her ripcage escape seemed impossible, the Hollow Girl pinned like a bug to the canvas. “Get off, idiot,” she growled. “We both know you can’t do this half as well as me, so why don’t you just GRRRRRK!”
Switching her grip, the grinding neck-lock became a sleeper, Lenore Leanign forwards to keep the redhead’s windpipe closed. The hold was locked in deep enough Larkin had black spots on the edge of her vision almost immediately, but the plus side was that she no longer had all of Lenor’es weight on her middle. To make the most of this slimmest of silver linings she pushed up with her arms again, legs finding some purchase until she made it to a loose crouch with the Raven strapped to her back.
“Clever girl,” Lenore hissed, breath warm in the bigger woman’s ear. “You’ve definitely proved you’re strong over these last few months. It’s just such a shame to see strength wasted on an overgrown edgelord without the wits to make use of it.” To illustrate her point she clamped down on the choke, feeling a notable sag in the rising redhead’s knees.
Vision now getting seriously cloudy, Harriet knew that she only had one way of getting out. To achieve this she powered up through her legs, dragging herself into a sort of bent version of standing with the Courtier coming along for the ride. But with Lenore’s leverage advantage all but wiped out, Larkin could bring her strength to bear once more, swinging her upper body around with enough force to loosen a little bit of that sleeper. A few more wild swings were enough to shake her tormentor loose, the Raven dropping to her feet and turning straight back around to SMECK!
THEN SPOKE THE THUNDER
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRM9NuHfhps
The meaty sound of heads colliding was enough to silence even this most raucous of crowds for a second, Lenore slumping sickeningly backwards from the impact while Larkin was driven to her knees.
This aforementioned silence ended the moment Harriet lurched over to her brunette, hooked the far leg and rolled into a Back Press good for…
ONE…
TWO…
THRNOOOO!
Lemarchand powered free of the redhead’s grip and rolled to all fours, though the noticeable slump in her head and shoulders suggested she wouldn’t get much farther. Or rather, she wouldn’t have made it much farther if the Hollow Girl hadn’t crawled in front of her and drawn the penitent Raven into a snug Front Facelock. Quick to sling Lenore’s near arm across her shoulders, Larkin snagged a handful of dark waistband and powered to verticality while simultaneously hauling Lemarchand all the way to high noon with what looked like an effortless dead-lift! No theatrics after that initial show of force, the big redhead simply laid out on her back to THAWHAM her burden down on the thinly-sheathed canvas.
BASEMENT SUPLEX:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0wJou5jNiY
Lenore bounced up and twisted to one side, her usually calm features twisted into an agonized mask. But pain gave way to dismay when Harriet slid over and stretched her brunette out flat. Hooking the far leg up high enough to force it against Lenore’s chest, Harriet pressed her other hand against the Fair & Radiant Maiden’s cheek, forcing her head to one side while Carpenter and the FAWNatics tolled…
ONE…
TWO…
THRNOOOO!
Lemarchand shrugged free again and thus earned Al a dark look from the dance floor anarchist. “What’s the matter with you?” she asked. “You get off watching birds suffer?”
“What?” Al stammered. “No! No, of course not, it was just two, Harriet.”
“Sure it was.” Larkin snapped. “Explain that to this one when they’re loading her onto the stretchNNGGHH!”
Lenore reared back on her haunches and drilled a straight right hand into Harriet’s tummy with enough force to shoot the redhead’s glutes back at a sharp angle. “Don’t flatter yourself, honey.” the Courtier muttered as she grabbed at Larkin’s waistband to steady her next shot. “You don’t have what it takes to UUNNNNGGGHHH!”
Harriet CLOUTED her across the shoulders with a huge Overhand Forearm Smash, then caught the brunette’s bowed head in another Front Facelock. What followed was almost an exact replay of the previous Basement Suplex only this time the turned to one side when Lemarchand reached the apex and released her hooks so the bendy-back plummeted through an inglorious freefall that ended with her THWHAMMING against the canvas.
DEADLIFT SUPLEX TOSS:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3v0w_W59r1g
“Are you really that deluded, bird brain?” Larkin slapped the back of Lenore’s head, stretched her out on the mat and proceeded to grrrrrriiiiiind the sole of her right foot into the Raven’s cheek. “NO ONE in this building thinks you’re going to win a fight against me. Not your fans. Not your boyfriend. Not even your beloved Black Court. None of them have the guts to tell you, but deep in their heart they know you’re mine to torture as I see--” she would’ve said ‘fit’ if Lemarchand hadn’t shoved that hateful encroaching boot away from her scuffed, reddened features.
“Huuuhhh... hhuuuhhh… are lines like that part of the torture, sweetness?” Lenore rasped. “Because it’s easily the most painful thing you’ve ever subjected me WHOOAAHH NOOOOO AAARRRRRGGHHHH!”
Larkin snatched her prey’s right leg, yanked it off the canvas and used it like a lever to turn to woozy Courtier onto her belly. From there she tucked Lenore’s trapped shin under her left arm and stepped over the grounded grappler’s torso, all the better to haul her into a near headstand that put even more strain on Lemarchand’s neck when Harriet sank to one knee. “There, you mouthy little shyt.” Larkin smirked once she’d really settled into the torturous twist on the Single Leg Crab. “This is how you wreck a brat’s knee. And her spine. And her neck. And her pride. F*ck, I could probably work over your crotch if I felt like getting my hands dirty.”
TORTURE HALF CRAB:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTy3imOfFL0
“Kiss my ass, bytch.” Lenore’s response was strained as tried to get some purchase against the hellacious hold. “Everyone knows you don’t dare so much as throw a punch without Faulk watching your back. You two are so co-dependant it’s disgustAAAAAWWWWWWW FAAAAAAAAAAAHKING BYTCH!”
Harriet stopped cupping Lemarchand’s knee with her right hand so she could affix that talon to the center of her nemesis’s briefs. “I didn’t need Lyra to leave you flat on your f*cking back.” the Hollow Girl explained over her foe’s moans and groans. “She only joined in on the fun to remind everyone that you are NOT in control of how this plays out. Understand that yet, magpie? If I want you to bleed, you’ll bleed. If I want you to scream, you’ll scream. And if I want you to moan…” Larkin trailed off as her thumb traced a nonsense pattern against Lenore’s togs. “Do I make myself clear, pet?”
Silence spun out for perhaps five seconds before Lemarchand replied, “Sweetie, I’ve gone to war against Olivia by God Dare on the penthouse carpet. The only thing clear is that you work a crotch claw like a terrified freshman on prom nihEEERRRRRRRRRRHHHHHHHHH!”
Harriet resumed her previous claw grip, the big redhead seemingly committed to defeating her opponent in the most ignominious way possible. “Ask her.” she barked at Carpenter. “Ask the panicky little tramp if she’s ready to OOFFHH! OOFFHH! OOOFFFHH!”
Lemarchand finally got her head free and she stretched out on her back, the Half Crab now nothing more than a Single Leg with a wicked grip attached. Eager to soothe those fires down below, Lenore pulled back her left leg and drove that foot into Larkin’s chest once, twice, three times! The last shot convinced Harriet to abandon her hooks but the Raven’s escape didn’t buy much in the way of maneuvering room as the Hollow Girl bounced off the ropes and bore down on her with huge Lar-- an explosion from that Unkindness of Ravens as their heroine came out of her crouch in a gorgeous vertical leap, Lemarchand’s left knee rising more than high enough to THWONK Larkin between the eyes!
FLYING KNEE:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=byh5Kev2ugg
Both ladies went down in a heap but damned if they didn’t roll in opposite directions and clamber to boot leather well before Al Carpenter even thought about a standing ten count. “Looking a little rattled, big girl.” Lenore spat at the redhead. “I’m surprised something like a Knee Strike did anything to your admittedly hollow he--”
Larkin charged the brunette with a hateful growl, her right arm already locked and loaded for the Lariat she planned to smash against Lemarchand’s clavNOOOO! Lenore didn’t so much dodge the Lariat as she did hook her arm under Harriet’s at just the right time. With her right hand cupping the nape of the FlCer’s neck, the Fair & Radiant Maiden leaned forward and slung Larkin over slim plank of her back to THWHUMP down flat on her face, chest and tummy. Harriet landed with a heavy grunt, but powered to her knees almost immediately. “Is that all you’ve got, bird braNNNNNNGGGGHHH!” Lenore stepped in and caught Harriet with another Knee Strike, this one to the point of the chin. Larkin slopped backward, hands at her sides, dark eyes glassy and unfocused.
INVERTED HIP TOSS & KNEE STRIKE:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=98vBL_TCJvo
Thumbs already hooked together, Lemarchand held her sigil inches from Harriet’s nose and bellowed, “THAT’S WHAT I’VE GOT, BABY! THINK YOU CAN HANDLE ANY MORE?” Larkin didn’t answer, so Lemarchand shoved the penitent powerhouse onto her back and dropped into a heavy straddle, Lenore making sure to grind her knees against Harriet’s biceps while the capacity crowd counted…
ONE…
TWO…
THRENOOOOOOOO!
The Hollow Girl proved to be anything but, as she bucked Lemarchand from her domineering cover with half a heartbeat to spare. But whatever boasts she might’ve made earlier in the match it was apparent that the redhead was rattled; where previously she had pushed straight back to vertical, now she slopped over onto her front and pushed up to her knees, seemingly scrambling over towards the corner to give herself a ladder back up.
Whatever the plan might have been it doesn’t come to fruition, Lenore intercepting her just before reaching the corner and taking two big handfuls of auburn locks. “I guess it’s time we found out whether you really are hollow,” she mused, lifting one boot up to press into the back of Harriet’s neck. The Santa Fe girl had a half-second to regret moving towards the ropes and then she was stomped down, face slamming into the bottom turnbuckle!
Head bouncing upwards from the padded steel, Harriet let out a groan and dropped down onto it again, her third head impact in the last two minutes enough to leave her seeing stars. The position was a little too inviting for the Raven though, Lenore backing off to get a bit of a run up and then dashing back towards her prey. Hopping up into the air she bought one boot almost elegantly down on the nape of Harriet’s neck. The Hollow Girl’s features were rammed into the buckle, body slumping forwards in a damp heap.
Scrambling back to her feet, Lenore reached down to haul the splattered rookie away from the corner, turning her onto her back in the process. This time she was all business, hooking one leg up and holding it high and tight as she poured across Harriet’s pale form. After taking half a second to check that the redhead’s shoulders were down Carpenter dropped to begin his count, the crowd counting with him through
ONE
TWO
THRENOOOOO!
Carpenter’s hand had come so close to the three count that Lenore, usually so composed in the ring, even glanced at him and raised a slightly hopeful looking eyebrow. The referee only shook his head slightly in response, indicating that the redhead’s shoulder-first lunge off the canvas had come jut in time to prolong her night. But the look in the Raven’s eyes suggested that’s he might quickly come to regret that, ,especially when Lemarchand lifted the gasping woman’s torso up off the matt and corralled both her arms behind her back.
Tucking that far arm between her own legs, Lenore hooked the other into her own armpit to leave the Hollow Girl trapped while she still had one arm of her own totally free. The Crucifix lock seemed to be taken straight from the playbook of Mercy Ellis or Astrid white, but unlike them it seemed that Emily’s Lady in Waiting wasn’t in any rush to start raining down elbow strikes. Instead she seemed almost tender, caressing the trapped redhead’s face a little before leaving her hand over her left eye.
“You might remember that I tried to get your face clean in our first encounter,” Lenore purred, eying the two chevrons of facepaint over the FlC girl’s eye. Still groggy from the multiple shots to her head, it took a second for Harriet to register the words, but as soon as she did she started bucking wildly and trying to turn her head. G…get off!” she yelled, “don’t touch mOWWWW NO BYTCH!”
Lifting that free hand up, the Raven made a great show of extending one thumb and licking the tip as if to moisten it. Then she put it to work like a mother cleaning an errant child, rubbing vigorously at that elaborate eye makeup. The roar from the FAWNatics carried a serious undercurrent of ‘ooh’s at the disrespect, but this was as nothing to the bellow coming from Larkin’s mouth. After a few seconds of rubbing she managed to turn her head away again, Lemarchand temporarily distracted by the insistent voice of Al Carpenter.
“Get away from the eyes Lenore!” he demanded, “I know you two have a score to settle but I’m not letting you blind her.” The smile he received in return was almost sweet, at least until it came to the deadly look in the Raven’s eyes. “Don’t worry about it Al” she purred, “If Harry here was feeling a bit less concussed she’d tell you that the eyes are not here. No eyes here in this valley of dying stars, in this hollow valley…”
“If you’re going to quote Eliot at me don’t butcher it!” Larkin had spent the last twenty seconds or so wriggling her body around and now she reached out with one long, pale leg, managing to rest her tiptoes on the bottom rope. “Get her off!” she demanded of Al. He turned quickly, expecting to have to count the vengeful Raven down, and instead found her shoulders shaking in apparent mirth.
“Big tough Harriet Larkin!” she giggled. “You’ve spent the past three months telling me and everyone else that I can’t make you tap out, and then you need a rope break because I smudged your makeup?” She gave one last constriction before releasing Harriet’s arms, still chortling a little as she stood over the redhead. “Sharing a ring with me has definitely earned you some exposure but you’re really not doing that image any favours. I’d hate to see what happens if you break a nail.”
Harriet didn’t seem to be finding any of this very funny, pulling herself up to kneeling by the ropes. One hand came up to wipe the sweat-dampened hair form her eyes while the other came up in a middle-fingered salute aimed squarely at Lemarchand. But as the courtier swept in to make her pay for it Larkin’s obscenity transformed into a big swinging forearm smash, which landed somewhere just south of the waistband of the Raven’s togs and stopped her in her tracks.
Defying the dull ache in her head, Larkin scrambled to her feet, snatching one of the brunette’s arms and whirling around into a rapid Irish Whip which flung the smaller woman towards the far ropes. Despite the almighty shove Lenore’s movements were smooth and calculated, the Raven clearly readying some sort of counter. But for the first time in quite a while Harriet seemed one step ahead, charging in behind to deny any space for a counter and instead lift one boot up high to THUMP into Lenore’s forehead!
RUNNING BIG BOOT
www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8wa5ZHcujk
“EAT THAT YOU SMUG BYTCH!” The words were out of Harriet’s mouth even before she’d skidded to a stop, turning around and taking a second to enjoy the sight of Lenroe in a damp starfish in front of her. But there were still plenty of unanswered slights going around in the Hollow Girl’s head as she knee-walked over to the prone Raven, swinging one leg over to take a high mount.
“I’ve gotta admit, I underestimated just how obnoxious you could be.” Larkin reached down and gathered up both of the Raven’s arms, moving them above her head and crossing over at the wrists so she could restrain them with one hand. With her free hand she tapped Lenore lightly on the cheek a few times, waiting until the brunette was looking at her before continuing. “If you really wanted some tips about eye makeup you only had to ask,” she informed the wriggling Raven, “I’m no makeup artist but I’m sure we can improvise.”
“The only art you excel in is choking,” Lenore spat, “and we both know that’s comi…UGH AGH!” Uninterested in the Courtier’s prattle, Harriet raised her free arm up high and jabbed the point f her elbow down HARD into Lemarchand’s left eye socket. With nowhere to go, Lenore took the full force of the blow, head slammed into the canvas again by a second brutal elbow. A third, fourth and fifth quickly followed, Larkin only relenting in her torment when Carpenter’s bent to shout in her ear.
“GET OFF THE EYES!” he hollered. “Rein this shyt in now Harriet, or I have no choice but to disqualify you.” The Hollow Girl paused her barrage a second to take a deep breath and give him a withering look. “You seemed happy enough to let bird-brain here got at my eye as long as she was quoting poetry at you, so how about this. ‘I always wondered if she was sane, and there’s a certain restless brilliancy in her eyes that half led me to imagine she is’.”
Lenore might have admired the gambit if she wasn’t currently being pummelled as a result of it. Thankfully for her Al Carpenter wasn’t taken in for a second, counting quickly to four and then looking slightly relieved when Harriet gave up her abuse, although not before scowling in his general direction. By which time the redhead’s eye was already looking red and half-closed with swelling. The referee bent in concern but Harriet beat him to it, grabbing a handful of hair and dragging Lemarchand to a slightly wobbly seat.
“Shouldn’t have gone after the eyes, crow,” she told Lenore. “Now it’s going to be hard to see me doing this…” The redhead dashed off to her left, leaning heavily into the roeps and using their momentum to build up speed. Sure enough the Raven had to turn her head, doing so just as Larkin left her feet. The Low Angle Dropkick slammed her soles square into Lemarchan’ds face, a wet THUNK causing oooh’s of concern at ringside. No such worry from the Hollow Girl, she just concentrated on pouring herself over the insensate brunette and tiredly hooking up one leg as Carpenter dropped to count…
LOW ANGLE DROPKICK
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrlST75GJbo
ONE…
TWO…
THRNOOOO!
The beleaguered Raven rustled her wings with half a second to spare, thus prolonging her ‘Mania participation for at least another three seconds. Harriet didn’t quite pound a fist against the mat in disgust, but the look she shot Carpenter spoke volumes. The Hollow Girl was not happy and Lenore would suffer as a result. Treating herself to an uncontested double fistful of Lemarchand’s dark locks, Larkin peeled the other woman off the mat and stuffed a Kneelift into her belly before relinquishing the hair-hold on favor of a brawny Double Underhook. With the back of Lenore’s head wedged under her right arm, Harriet turned to all four sides of the arena so this gaggle of idiots could better understand her control.
“After careful consideration, I believe Eliot might have made a mistake.” she told the defenseless Courtier. “The end of the world isn’t an either or statement. It can come with a bang AND a whimper.”
She kicked her left leg forward and-- Lemarchand dropped to one knee, effectively thwarting that disastrous shadow. Of course it didn’t free her from the redhead’s clutches, as Larkin reminded everyone when she muscled Lenore back to verticality and-- Lenore took a knee again, whether as a show of calculated resistance or accumulated exhaustion no one could say. Harriet didn’t much care one way or the other, she was simply over tolerating the brat’s whims. So instead of trying for it yet again, the FLC’er sank into a deep crouch and YANKED Lemarchand from her place of penance all the way to a Powerbomb stall in one colossal dead-lift! Actually ‘stall’ was a bit of a misnomer as the Fair & Radiant Maiden never once came to a stop before Harriet caught her around the upper thighs and sat out to THAWHAM Lenore down on the back of her head and shoulders! Folded in half by the Tiger Driver, Lemarchand only kicked fitfully when Larkin leaned into her upturned haunches for the…
TIGER DRIVER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygT59MX-owY
ONE…
TWO…
THRENOOOOOOOO!
Emily’s Lady in Waiting wrestled free of Harriet’s grip to land stretched out flat on her belly mere inches from an incredulous Harriet Larkin. “You’re tough. There, I f*cking said it.” the Hollow Girl spat the admission even as she filled her hands with Lenore’s hair. “You’re more durable than I ever imagined, but here’s the thing, magpie.” Larkin hauled the both of ‘em up and drew Lemarchand in so they were forehead to forehead. “It’s not enough. It’s NEVER been enough.”
She traded the hair-hold for a Wristlock so Carpenter couldn’t complain, then stepped away and dropped a shoulder to send the Courtier racing at a corner on the far side of the ring. Lenore must’ve been running on fumes at that point, yet her autopilot was still functioning well enough to spin her around so she took the impact between her shoulders and not square in the sternum. The adjustment didn’t matter to Harriet in the slightest, as she was barely four steps behind her prey with an Avalanche Splash that’d accomplish what the corner had “NNNNGGGHHH!”
Lenore kicked her right leg up to THWHACK Larkin across the jaw with a big boot that sent the towering titian terror stumbling back toward the center of the ring. But the desperation resistance only stoked Larkin’s anger and she charged the buckles with every intent of-- Lemarchand marked her arrival with a Mule Kick aimed at Harriet’s jaNOOOO!
The Hollow Girl caught her rival’s ankles in midair, muscled ‘em up a little higher, then twisted around and threaded Lenore’s legs around her head so that the pits of the brunette’s knees were snug against her shoulders. Grinning triumphantly as she tore the dangling Courtier loose from her moorings, Harriet stomped away from the sanctuary of the ropes and snarled, “Told you, bird brain. It’s just not enouHEYEEERRRRHHHH BYTCH!”
Lenore didn’t so much escape the predicament as she did change it, the Fair & Radiant Maiden crunching her way into a slumped Electric Chair atop Larkin’s shoulders. Hardly the safest alternative considering Harriet’s strength and potential for violence, so Lemarchand curled her hands into claws and RAKED Larkin’s eyes as hard as she could! It was hardly sporting, not that either woman gave a damn until Lenore slipped off her perch and caught the Arizona Anarchist in a tight Waistlock. “Sneaky bytch, I’ll claw out your eyes for NNNNNNNGGGGGHHHH!”
APRON GERMAN SUPLEX:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZ3JT22PudQ
The Raven whipped backward in a high speed bridge she released at the apex to send the back of Larkin’s neck into the top turnbuckle with a low, ugly BWUUUNG! Harriet should’ve crumpled to her seat in a smoldering heap, so you can imagine Lenore’s surprise when the FLC powerhouse set her feet and clambered forth for “UNGH!” Lemarchand doubled her over with a Toe Kick, slapped on a Front Facelock and slung Harriet’s near arm across her shoulders. In the next instant she reached down with her right hand, grabbed Larkin’s right ankle and angled it across the redhead’s left thigh to create a sort of standing figure four. No submission attempt this however, as Lenore hooked Harriet behind the left knee and muscled her directly overhead before laying out to THAWHAM the Hollow Girl on the back of her head and shoulders.
BLEAK DECEMBER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-YmNe1MZgk
With Harriet splattered across the mat by an early taste of a particularly Bleak December, the FAWNatics begged Lenore to go for a cover and Lemarchand moved to oblige them only to draw back in wide-eyed shock when Larkin slopped onto her tummy and began to rise! Raking both hands through her hair as she scrambled for a workable plan, Lenore abruptly honed in on the redhead’s left wrist and grabbed hold. “Get up!” she demanded. “I said get up, Harriet!”
Larkin did, but not fast enough for the Courtier’s taste, so she kept reefing on Harriet’s wing until the redhead was vertical enough to send off with an Irish Whip… or not. Rather than let the tenacious tyro create any separation, Lenore planted her right foot behind Larkin and snugged the woozy anarchist’s right arm across her own midsection. Then she leaaaaaaned forward, a shift that bent Harriet back in an awkward bridge and let Lemarchand cinch her right arm around Larkin’s head in a Front Facelock. Those assembled for ’Mania were still figuring out these machinations when Lenore snapped down and back, the Raven landing flat while Harriet was SPIKED on the crown of her skull with one of the most emphatic DDT’s in recent memory. Transformed from a raging engine of entropy to the most platonic pacifist imaginable by the power of Lenore’s Nepenthean Dream, Harriet didn’t even twitch when Lemarchand collapsed across her chest and hooked the far leg for…
NEPENTHEAN DREAM:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfD1Iey46FA
ONE…
TWO…
THRNOOOOOOOO!
Harriet turned onto her stomach so late Carpenter had to throw a ‘don’t call it!’ signal to the Timekeeper to make sure the match didn’t end then and there!
Eyes closed so the cameras couldn’t record her astonishment for future generations, Lenore took several deep breaths, then dropped to all fours and leaned in to whisper in her opponent’s ear. “Still there, sweetheart? If I’m talking to anything other than muscle memory I’m begging you to get up and fi--”
Harriet reared back on her knees and began to rise even as Lemarchand did the same. “Guuuhhhh…. gonna wish you’d tried for another cover, magpie.” the Hollow Girl rasped. “Because what you did just then? That’s not begging. I’m gonna show you how to--”
Lenore stopped her with a double barreled middle finger salute, then hooked her thumbs together to transform it into her most defiant raven sigil yet. Larkin snarled, lunged for her and got more than she bargained for when Emily’s Lady in Waiting took her to the mat with a Drop Toe Hold. Up on her knees in the blink of an eye, Lemarchand trapped Larkin’s left calf in the vise created by the back of her right thigh and calf. From there she reached out with her left hand, grabbed Harriet’s chin and cranked it back just far enough to thread her left leg into place beneath the redhead’s jaw. An interesting set-up no doubt, but true understanding of Lenore’s trap didn’t dawn until she stretched out over Harriet’s body and planted on both hands. Doing so rolled Larkin onto her back a heartbeat before the Raven crossed her ankles to effectively trap her opponent’s head, left arm and left leg in a ‘just what the hell am I looking at?’ sort of triangle.
CRADLE OF AMONTILLADO:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yo0-hWiGZo
“TAP!” Lenore bellowed as pushed up as high as she could go while simultaneously squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeezing Harriet’s noggin between glute and calf. “TAP OUT, PRINCESS!”
Denied one whole side of her body, Larkin stretched her right leg as far as it’d go, yet she was still several feet removed from the ropes. “FUUUUHHHH….F*CK OFF BIRD BRAIN!”
Larkin’s free hand was stretched almost directly overhead, as if she was looking for a hidden set of strands. “I’LL NEVER UUUNNNNGGGGHHHH FAAAAAAAAAAHHHK STAAAAAAAAHHHP!”
Lenore rose up ‘n down, up n’ down, image of a woman powering through a hellacious set of push ups at the end of her work-- Harriet’s hand came down fast, the red-faced Hollow Girl tapping repeatedly on the dense, crushing meat of Lemarchand’s backside. Nodding in savage satisfaction, Lenore continued through a few more reps while the Announcer confirmed, “Ladies and gentlemen, your winner via submission… LENORE LEMARCHAND!”
Unhooking her ankles allowed Harriet to stretch out on her back in a defenseless sprawl, not that she didn’t offer a few choice curses when Lenore swung around into a Schoolgirl Pin that was mere inches from becoming a Front Face Sit. “Guuuuhhhh… get it over with, asshole.”
“Nothing about this contest of ours has been quick or merciful.” Lenore noted as she braced her thighs against Larkin’s cheeks. “Why would that change now?”
“Don’t think this is over. Not for one second.” Larkin glowered. “No one writes the end of this story but…f*ck, I hate you, you smug twat.”
Lenore tapped the tip of Harriet’s nose with her index finger, then treated it to a little pinch. “Know why I’m smug, Harry? Because I’m f*cking good at what I do. It’s why I’m up here and you’re down there.”
Harriet bristled, tried to push up but couldn’t escape the weight of Lemarchand’s mount. “You won tonight, magpie. Doesn’t mean you’ll win every night. Or ever MMMMMGHHH!”
Lenore clamped her thighs shut and slid forward, cutting off Larkin’s threat in an avalanche of backside. “Oh, don’t think of this as the end of the world, sweetie.” the Raven teased as she worked her tush back n’ forth atop the redhead’s protesting mug. “Think of it as a new beginning, better yet, an act of creation. And since creation is often a painful, violent process,” she prized her knees apart, grabbed a double handful of hair and pulled Harriet’s features that much closer, “I’d say a little whimpering is acceptable, don’t you?”
In the end Harriet groaned, hissed, cursed and gnashed before she slipped off into the dark. She didn’t whimper though, which Lenore counted in her favor. Breaking the seal after another ten seconds or so, she stood up and raised her sigil so that the shadow fell across Larkin’s slumbering face, a visual the broadcast held until it was time to cut away to hype video for the Lightweight Title tilt.
The announcer’s voice cut over the clamour. “Ladies and gentlemen! Our next contest is scheduled for one fall with a thirty minute time limit! Please welcome first, hailing from Santa Fe, New Mexico, she stands at five feet and ten inches tall and weighs in at one hundred and forty pounds…representing…uh…FIC, she is known as the Hollow Girl…HARRIET LARKIN!
A friend in need’s a friend indeed
PURE MORNING
www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIxx2NZUUco
Out onto the ramp strode a tall, pale redhead, clad in a white blouse with a clearly visible black lacy bra and a plaid skirt which was oooonly just long enough to not be classed as a belt. Larkin had her long red hair loose below her shoulders and took a second to give a slightly knowing grin round at the audience before heading off towards the ring.
HARRIET LARKIN
Behind her not one but two other figures emerged. The first was expected, Lyra Faulk looking as if she had just walked out of a nightclub and dancing to a beat only she could hear. But there was also another woman, a svelte looking woman tight orange-red shorts and a white cropped hoody done u to cover her face in shadow. Both women set off behind Larkin, but Faulk fairly quickly caught up with her, grabbing one of the redhead’s hands just before she reached ringside.
Faulk snatched that hand greedily and used it to tug her partner in for a brief but extremely intimate kiss on the lips. Larkin pulled away after a few seconds, raising her head to give the camera a first view of her face, especially those two chevrons of bronze and copper facepaint drawn over her left eye. She flashed a smile at Faulk and stepped away, nodding at the stranger and receiving a nod in return. But then both the Chaos Emerald and the stranger turned, very pointedly walking back up the ramp and out of the auditorium, neither one looking back.
Left alone, Harriet climbed up into the ring and turned, making sure to jeep the ramp in full view as she awaited the unfortunately doomed Raven who would shortly be emerging from it.
Al had just finished his inspection of Larkin’s pads and boots (all without losing fingers or teeth, a fact of which the official was understandably proud) when the Announcer called, “And introducing her opponent, hailing from Glen Echo Michigan, she stands at five feet seven inches tall and weighs in at one hundred and thirty-one pounds. Representing the Black Court, they call her the Raven… LENORE LEMARCHAND!”
Kula Shaker’s ‘Hush’ winged its way into the arena and a massive unkindness of ’Ravens’ took wing went up, Lemarchand’s ’unkindness’ larger than ever on this balmy ’Mania evening. The sold out throng cheered all the louder when the Fair & Radiant Maiden stepped into on the tail end of the Announcer’s proclamation. During their first two encounters, Lenore made a point to sweep the audience for any sign of Lyra Faulk. Tonight her eyes were for no one but the Hollow Girl as hooked her thumbs together and hoisted the Raven sigil directly overhead. This called forth even more stately birds of yore, not to mention a thunderous ‘NEVERMORE!’ chant.
LENORE LEMARCHAND:
For tonight’s high stakes rubber match with the Engine of Entropy, Lenore chose strappy bikini bottoms hued in a purplish-black and emblazoned with a faint design that careful inspection revealed as feathers. Her top was halter style, with the color and pattern matching her briefs, while her elbow and kneepads were matte black, the latter still obscured by loose, bell-flared 'leggings' that started just south of mid-thigh and dropped to ankle length. Those leggings were also black and featured a stylized version of Lemarchand’s raven insignia done in stark white. Her look was finished with shiny black boots and purple wrist tape that matched her togs.
Taking her eyes off Larkin for even a moment was almost impossible, yet Lenore did exactly that to acknowledge a sign reading:
‘Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December; when the Raven smote a vicious redhead upon the canvas floor.’
“I applaud the sentiment, but rest assured I’m going to smite the dancehall anarchist upon a hell of a lot more than just a canvas floor.” That seemed to please the sign holder, not that Lemarchand stuck around to gauge his reaction. Rather she spun away and broke into a limber run that brought her under the bottom rope in a matter of heartbeats. On her feet immediately thereafter, she stormed to the center of the squared circle and raised the Raven one more time, her eyes never leaving those of one Harriet Larkin.
Neither woman moved when the bell sounded, despite the copious amount of bad blood built between them over the last three months. This delay wasn’t intended to invoke support or vitriol from the crowd, nor was it a moment to ruminate over the career implications of a match upon FAWN’s grandest stage. In truth it was nothing more than a bit of last second study, Larkin and Lemarchand searching her opponent’s dark eyes for any sign of hesitancy or weakness. Simultaneously pleased and irritated to find none over the course of perhaps five seconds, the pair of rivals strolled to the center of the squared circle for a closer look.
“Couldn’t leave well enough alone, could you, magpie?” Harriet asked with only the slightest hint of amusement. “Either you don’t yet understand that this game is mine to end any time I choose, or you simply don’t care. I hope it’s the former. Because I’m going to savor that realization when it finally passes across your snotty little--”
Lenore turned her head with a whip-crack Bytch Slap, the Raven’s paddle-stiff palm connecting solidly with the big redhead’s right cheek. “You’re the one living in the dark, Larkin.” she murmured. “Still thinking I’m afraid of you. I’ll take that from you far sooner than you’d imagine. And when I doUUUNNNGGHHH OOOFFFHH!”
The Hollow Girl caught Lemarchand in the navel with a heavy right hand that doubled the brunette over just enough to make a double handful of hair quite enticing. Backing toward her corner with Lenore in tow, Larkin twisted her hips and slung the shorter woman against the buckles with a heavy BWUUUNG! Lenore hit hard enough to put a deep bend in her knees but she also hooked her arms over the top rope to keep her “UUUGGGHH!” Larkin rushed in with a truncated Avalanche Splash which more than made up in power whatever it might’ve lacked in distance.
BIEL & AVALANCHE SPLASH:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bX4yu3PMviI
The full body collision dropped Lemarchand to her butt with a soft ‘thump’ and Harriet was right there to make a rough start even worse with half a dozen heavy stomps administered directly to her rival’s chest and tummy. Lenore covered up as best she could, which unfortunately didn’t amount to much when Larkin snatched hold of the top rope in both hands and planted both feet on the Courtier’s chest. Yanking up on the rubber-coated steel even as she gouged her heels into Lenore’s squirming sternum, Harriet noted, “Eliot once said he measured his life in coffee spoons. I think I’ll measure yours in panicked little whimpers.”
A brutally noble endeavor indeed, alas she didn’t get very far before Craig Long strode over and demanded, “Out of the corner, Harriet! Now!”
Larkin countered with a smile and a renewed effort to jounce every bit of her hundred and forty pounds through the chest of Emily’s Lady in Waiting.
Not about to let the leggy anarchist challenge his authority so early in the contest, Craig started in with a count that Harriet extended all the way to ‘FOUR!’
Larkin hopped off her unwilling doormat with a cheeky little flourish that curdled into a withering glare when it fell upon the official. “Keep your distance, little man. This war is ours to wage however we see fit.” In this case that meant burying both hands in Lemarchand’s hair so she could “NNNNNNGGGGGGHH!”
Lenore cupped the redhead’s ears as she came up, all the better to tuck her head beneath Harriet’s chin and drop to one knee to rattle the Hollow Girl’s fillings with a quick Jawbreaker. Larkin stumbled backward with both hands pressed to her mouth, meaning she didn’t note the kick until Lenore THWHAPPED it home just above her left knee!
Harriet growled, straightened up and glared a hole through Lenore. “That shyt again? You aren’t strong enough to take my knee, bird brain. But since you’re so eager to try…” the big redhead took two steps back, planted her left leg in front and slapped that thigh with one hand. “C’mon princess.” Harriet laced her hands behind her head, effectively giving Lemarchand a free shot at the exposed joint. “Take your best shot before I take mine and your goddamned face lands in the upper deHHUUURRRK!”
Fundamentally opposed to the idea of rejecting such a generous gift, Lenore raised a knee for a second leg kick only to lunge forward and jam the fingertips of her right hand into the hollow of Harriet’s throat! Rasping in surprise and rage, Harriet turned away from the cheap shot only to hit the deck a heartbeat later when the Raven came in low with a Chop Block that smashed against the pit of her left knee!
CHOP BLOCK:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eVcJr_Ph8A
“GUTLESS WHORE!” Larkin roared as she came down on all fours within easy grabbin’ distance from the nearest ropes. “You’ll suffer for NNNNGGGGHH!”
In no mood for Harriet’s moral assessment of the situation, the Fair & Radiant Maiden clamped down on the redhead’s left ankle and hauled her up in what have been an impressive handstand if she hadn’t immediately dropped to her knees to THWHUNK Harriet’s tingling left knee into the thinly-sheathed plywood as hard as she could! The power behind that Stump Puller should’ve sent Larkin rolling under the bottom rope to recuperate on the outside, so of course she spun into a seat against the strands before using them to haul herself all the way to verti-- “Eeeerrrrrhhhhh…. get offa me you little GUUURRRHHHH!”
Lenore shouldered her way into Harriet’s midsection, knocking the redhead’s torso between the top and middle ropes for what would’ve been an unpleasant tumble to the floor if the Hollow Girl hadn’t hooked her arms over the uppermost strand to anchor herself in place. What Harriet didn’t know was that Lenore had counted on her instinct for self preservation kicking in in this exact fashion, but she recognized her mistake when the Raven laced both hands across the back of her foe’s noggin and twisted it sideways securing a Cravate. Still not done, Lenore dropped into a deep crouch, effectively throttling the larger woman against the rubber-coated steel. Barely aware of the hitch and burn in her compressed windpipe, Harriet filled her hands with the brunette’s hair and pulled like she meant to scalp her on the spot.
Lenore hissed, bared her teeth and began to drag Harriet’s neck back n’ forth against the top rope. “Go on, tuff girl.” she sneered. “Let’s see you call for back-up n--”
“ALL RIGHT, BREAK THOSE HOLDS YOU TWO!” Craig barked. “I MEAN IT! ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!”
Harriet let loose a split-second before Lenore, meaning the Courtier had just enough time to stand up and THWHONK a single high Kneelift between Larkin’s eyes! Harriet’s head snapped backward but her grip on the ropes didn’t waver so she remained safely in place, at least until Lemarchand spun around, leapt off her left foot and THWHACKED the right against the New Mexican’s temple! The Spin Kick finally knocked Larkin free from the strands but she STILL didn’t reach the floor thanks to a fortuitous albeit rather awkward landing on the apron.
ROPE HUNG CRAVATE & SPIN KICK:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Xca40N2KsE
Lined up on the other side of the strands, Lenore grabbed the top in both hands and said, “This reminds me of one of my favorite Poe quotes. Bytch, get outta my ring.” She hopped up and came back down with a quick Dropkick to Larkin’s shoulder and hip that finally sent the FIC lass to the floor with a heavy THUMP!
Backing off to claim the ring as hers and hers alone, Lemarchand hooked her thumbs together and raised the Raven to the rafters. Aside from being deeply satisfying on a professional and personal level, the resultant cheer also roused Harriet from her stupor, as evidenced by the hand Lenore spied pawing at the edge of the apron. “Don’t rush yourself, Harriet.” she purred. “I’ll come to you.” With that she wheeled around and raced to the far side of the squared circle before heading back the way she came on a beeline for the Hollow Girl.
Despite having a distinctly avian nickname, it was relatively rare for Lenore to take to the skies, although this only led to more anticipation form the audience on the occasions that she did. As such the Raven was roared on by the crowd as she crossed the ring in a flat sprint and took to ebon wings. She soared through the gap between the middle ant top ropes, ready to crash into the recovering redhead at ringside.
But whether it was the extra noise or just the fact that she had spent the last two months battling Lemarchand, it seemed that Harriet had her scouted, ducking away from the brunette’s swan-dive at the last possible moment. Lenore still had the presence to turn a graceful flip, thus landing in a sort of rolling crouch and avoiding a painful crash into the crowd barrier, but she turned around straight into a raised Big Boot which thumped into her collarbone and put her on her ass!
“You seriously think you’re going to surprise me with that shyt?” Larkin asked mock-incredulously, reaching down to haul her back up again. Lenore was happy to go along with her right up until the point when she flicked a boot out to jab into the taller woman’s knee, but the only response she got from this was a hiss of annoyance swiftly followed by a piston-fast kneelift to the gut which doubled her over.
“I’ve been watching you pull that crap for two months” Harriet advised the huffing Raven. She ducked after her, tucking in on one side and bodying the Raven up into a neat little package. She was only held there for a second though, Larkin turning a quarter circle and falling to her back. Lemarchand was dropped onto the ring apron spine-first, bouncing off and flopping onto the floor as the Hollow Girl scrambled up to stand over her.
APRON BACK SUPLEX
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYG4RW8Jt7Y
With the Courtier slopped on the ringside matting clutching at her spine, Harriet took a second to brush the hair out of her eyes and glanced up at the slightly anxious-looking figure of Al Carpenter up in the ring. “Get her back up here Harriet!” he demanded loudly. Larkin’s only response was to flash an insolent smile in his direction before reaching down to grab two handfuls of purple top.
This time Lemarchand wasn’t so much pulled to her feet as she was dragged, the Hollow Girl turning as she lifted and just bodily shoving her into the crowd barricade. The small of her back clanged uncomfortably into the barely-padded steel, but this small hurt was magnified a hundredfold when Larkin took two fast steps and leaped off one foot, bringing that knee up to sandwich Lenore’s core between the joint and the steel. The brunette let out an involuntary ‘whoulff’ noise and dropped to a slumping seat at the bottom of the barricade.
Whatever plans Larkin might have had next were put on hold by the sound of Al Carpenter shouting “FIFTEEN” from up in the ring. For a second the redhead stood stock still in annoyance then she stormed over to the apron, hopped up and rolled under the bottom rope. Carpenter’s look was initially relief, which swiftly gave way to anger when Larkin simply looked up, flicked a middle-fingered salute in his direction, and rolled straight back out the way she had come.
Stomping back over towards the slumped Raven, Harriet reached down and took a handful of hair, lifting upwards and then flicking a boot out to bury once more into her gut. With Lenore bent forwards again the powerful redhead reached forwards and wrapped around her waist, bending her knees to lift up into another suplex position and turning as she did so until she was facing the ring post. But whatever plans she had for that exposed steel were thwarted when Lenore gave a sudden burst of energy to wriggle free and drop down behind the Hollow Girl. And she made the most of it, giving a neat little shove which propelled Larkin forwards into a face-first collusion with the unforgiving metal!
Taken unawares by the swiftness of the counter, Larkin slammed clean into that steel and bounced off, turning around with a dazed look in her eyes. And that was all the opening Lenore needed, jogging forwards and CAROMING a perfectly-placed Enziguiri into the redhead’s jaw. Larkin went down in a heap by the ring apron while Lenore rose, dusted herself of and gave a slight nod to acknowledge the deafening appreciation of the ringside fans.
But unlike Larkin this wasn’t the first time the Raven had appeared on the biggest show in wrestling, and that veteran experience told her to stay focussed. To that end she stepped over to the hurting newbie and dragged her up, slamming a quick forearm into her collarbone and then stuffing her knee up into Harriet’s ribs. “I’ve gotta admit that apron suplex was a nice touch,” she admitted to the penitent redhead. “Your execution was a little off though. Let me show you how it’s done.” Before Harriet could launch a counter the raven reached down to hook around her body and then powered upwards, demonstrating all that sinewy strength to send the FlC girl up into the air. But unlike the rookie’s attempt Lenore let go almost immediately, using her grip to spin the bigger woman around so that the back of her neck crashed down into the apron with spine-shattering force!
APRON X-PLEX
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlEfS9--Cso
The wet sound Larkin made as she hit that reinforced wood made it clear she wasn’t going anywhere under her own steam for a while, but Lenore gave her a couple of big shoves to get her under the rope and back into the ring, following quickly after her. The was the work of a second to pile on top of the devastated redhead and hook both legs, Harriet stacked on her shoulders with her derriere high in the air as Carpenter counted…
ONE
TWO
A crunch of her core was just enough for Harriet to push herself loose, her legs coming over her head to leave the hurting FLC girl on her front. If Lenore was disappointed to not get the pin right there she didn’t show it, instead knee-walking over to a high mount over the supine redhead. “Remember how we first met, dear?” she asked. Harriet’s only response was to put both hands on the matt and push up, trying to buck Emily’s Lady in Waiting off and failing miserably as Lenore just raised her tush a little and then dropped it down hard into the small of Larkin’s back. “It occurs to me that I’ve never actually paid you abck for that little misdemeanour” Lemarchand mused, “maybe it’s time to correct that.” She leaned forwards, looping one hand around Larkin’s throat while the other bent at the elbow, driving the poit of it into the already hurting area at the top of the grunting battler’s spine!
The response was immediate, Larkin letting out a groan and pushing up again. But with Lenore’s full weight bearing down on her ripcage escape seemed impossible, the Hollow Girl pinned like a bug to the canvas. “Get off, idiot,” she growled. “We both know you can’t do this half as well as me, so why don’t you just GRRRRRK!”
Switching her grip, the grinding neck-lock became a sleeper, Lenore Leanign forwards to keep the redhead’s windpipe closed. The hold was locked in deep enough Larkin had black spots on the edge of her vision almost immediately, but the plus side was that she no longer had all of Lenor’es weight on her middle. To make the most of this slimmest of silver linings she pushed up with her arms again, legs finding some purchase until she made it to a loose crouch with the Raven strapped to her back.
“Clever girl,” Lenore hissed, breath warm in the bigger woman’s ear. “You’ve definitely proved you’re strong over these last few months. It’s just such a shame to see strength wasted on an overgrown edgelord without the wits to make use of it.” To illustrate her point she clamped down on the choke, feeling a notable sag in the rising redhead’s knees.
Vision now getting seriously cloudy, Harriet knew that she only had one way of getting out. To achieve this she powered up through her legs, dragging herself into a sort of bent version of standing with the Courtier coming along for the ride. But with Lenore’s leverage advantage all but wiped out, Larkin could bring her strength to bear once more, swinging her upper body around with enough force to loosen a little bit of that sleeper. A few more wild swings were enough to shake her tormentor loose, the Raven dropping to her feet and turning straight back around to SMECK!
THEN SPOKE THE THUNDER
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRM9NuHfhps
The meaty sound of heads colliding was enough to silence even this most raucous of crowds for a second, Lenore slumping sickeningly backwards from the impact while Larkin was driven to her knees.
This aforementioned silence ended the moment Harriet lurched over to her brunette, hooked the far leg and rolled into a Back Press good for…
ONE…
TWO…
THRNOOOO!
Lemarchand powered free of the redhead’s grip and rolled to all fours, though the noticeable slump in her head and shoulders suggested she wouldn’t get much farther. Or rather, she wouldn’t have made it much farther if the Hollow Girl hadn’t crawled in front of her and drawn the penitent Raven into a snug Front Facelock. Quick to sling Lenore’s near arm across her shoulders, Larkin snagged a handful of dark waistband and powered to verticality while simultaneously hauling Lemarchand all the way to high noon with what looked like an effortless dead-lift! No theatrics after that initial show of force, the big redhead simply laid out on her back to THAWHAM her burden down on the thinly-sheathed canvas.
BASEMENT SUPLEX:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0wJou5jNiY
Lenore bounced up and twisted to one side, her usually calm features twisted into an agonized mask. But pain gave way to dismay when Harriet slid over and stretched her brunette out flat. Hooking the far leg up high enough to force it against Lenore’s chest, Harriet pressed her other hand against the Fair & Radiant Maiden’s cheek, forcing her head to one side while Carpenter and the FAWNatics tolled…
ONE…
TWO…
THRNOOOO!
Lemarchand shrugged free again and thus earned Al a dark look from the dance floor anarchist. “What’s the matter with you?” she asked. “You get off watching birds suffer?”
“What?” Al stammered. “No! No, of course not, it was just two, Harriet.”
“Sure it was.” Larkin snapped. “Explain that to this one when they’re loading her onto the stretchNNGGHH!”
Lenore reared back on her haunches and drilled a straight right hand into Harriet’s tummy with enough force to shoot the redhead’s glutes back at a sharp angle. “Don’t flatter yourself, honey.” the Courtier muttered as she grabbed at Larkin’s waistband to steady her next shot. “You don’t have what it takes to UUNNNNGGGHHH!”
Harriet CLOUTED her across the shoulders with a huge Overhand Forearm Smash, then caught the brunette’s bowed head in another Front Facelock. What followed was almost an exact replay of the previous Basement Suplex only this time the turned to one side when Lemarchand reached the apex and released her hooks so the bendy-back plummeted through an inglorious freefall that ended with her THWHAMMING against the canvas.
DEADLIFT SUPLEX TOSS:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3v0w_W59r1g
“Are you really that deluded, bird brain?” Larkin slapped the back of Lenore’s head, stretched her out on the mat and proceeded to grrrrrriiiiiind the sole of her right foot into the Raven’s cheek. “NO ONE in this building thinks you’re going to win a fight against me. Not your fans. Not your boyfriend. Not even your beloved Black Court. None of them have the guts to tell you, but deep in their heart they know you’re mine to torture as I see--” she would’ve said ‘fit’ if Lemarchand hadn’t shoved that hateful encroaching boot away from her scuffed, reddened features.
“Huuuhhh... hhuuuhhh… are lines like that part of the torture, sweetness?” Lenore rasped. “Because it’s easily the most painful thing you’ve ever subjected me WHOOAAHH NOOOOO AAARRRRRGGHHHH!”
Larkin snatched her prey’s right leg, yanked it off the canvas and used it like a lever to turn to woozy Courtier onto her belly. From there she tucked Lenore’s trapped shin under her left arm and stepped over the grounded grappler’s torso, all the better to haul her into a near headstand that put even more strain on Lemarchand’s neck when Harriet sank to one knee. “There, you mouthy little shyt.” Larkin smirked once she’d really settled into the torturous twist on the Single Leg Crab. “This is how you wreck a brat’s knee. And her spine. And her neck. And her pride. F*ck, I could probably work over your crotch if I felt like getting my hands dirty.”
TORTURE HALF CRAB:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTy3imOfFL0
“Kiss my ass, bytch.” Lenore’s response was strained as tried to get some purchase against the hellacious hold. “Everyone knows you don’t dare so much as throw a punch without Faulk watching your back. You two are so co-dependant it’s disgustAAAAAWWWWWWW FAAAAAAAAAAAHKING BYTCH!”
Harriet stopped cupping Lemarchand’s knee with her right hand so she could affix that talon to the center of her nemesis’s briefs. “I didn’t need Lyra to leave you flat on your f*cking back.” the Hollow Girl explained over her foe’s moans and groans. “She only joined in on the fun to remind everyone that you are NOT in control of how this plays out. Understand that yet, magpie? If I want you to bleed, you’ll bleed. If I want you to scream, you’ll scream. And if I want you to moan…” Larkin trailed off as her thumb traced a nonsense pattern against Lenore’s togs. “Do I make myself clear, pet?”
Silence spun out for perhaps five seconds before Lemarchand replied, “Sweetie, I’ve gone to war against Olivia by God Dare on the penthouse carpet. The only thing clear is that you work a crotch claw like a terrified freshman on prom nihEEERRRRRRRRRRHHHHHHHHH!”
Harriet resumed her previous claw grip, the big redhead seemingly committed to defeating her opponent in the most ignominious way possible. “Ask her.” she barked at Carpenter. “Ask the panicky little tramp if she’s ready to OOFFHH! OOFFHH! OOOFFFHH!”
Lemarchand finally got her head free and she stretched out on her back, the Half Crab now nothing more than a Single Leg with a wicked grip attached. Eager to soothe those fires down below, Lenore pulled back her left leg and drove that foot into Larkin’s chest once, twice, three times! The last shot convinced Harriet to abandon her hooks but the Raven’s escape didn’t buy much in the way of maneuvering room as the Hollow Girl bounced off the ropes and bore down on her with huge Lar-- an explosion from that Unkindness of Ravens as their heroine came out of her crouch in a gorgeous vertical leap, Lemarchand’s left knee rising more than high enough to THWONK Larkin between the eyes!
FLYING KNEE:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=byh5Kev2ugg
Both ladies went down in a heap but damned if they didn’t roll in opposite directions and clamber to boot leather well before Al Carpenter even thought about a standing ten count. “Looking a little rattled, big girl.” Lenore spat at the redhead. “I’m surprised something like a Knee Strike did anything to your admittedly hollow he--”
Larkin charged the brunette with a hateful growl, her right arm already locked and loaded for the Lariat she planned to smash against Lemarchand’s clavNOOOO! Lenore didn’t so much dodge the Lariat as she did hook her arm under Harriet’s at just the right time. With her right hand cupping the nape of the FlCer’s neck, the Fair & Radiant Maiden leaned forward and slung Larkin over slim plank of her back to THWHUMP down flat on her face, chest and tummy. Harriet landed with a heavy grunt, but powered to her knees almost immediately. “Is that all you’ve got, bird braNNNNNNGGGGHHH!” Lenore stepped in and caught Harriet with another Knee Strike, this one to the point of the chin. Larkin slopped backward, hands at her sides, dark eyes glassy and unfocused.
INVERTED HIP TOSS & KNEE STRIKE:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=98vBL_TCJvo
Thumbs already hooked together, Lemarchand held her sigil inches from Harriet’s nose and bellowed, “THAT’S WHAT I’VE GOT, BABY! THINK YOU CAN HANDLE ANY MORE?” Larkin didn’t answer, so Lemarchand shoved the penitent powerhouse onto her back and dropped into a heavy straddle, Lenore making sure to grind her knees against Harriet’s biceps while the capacity crowd counted…
ONE…
TWO…
THRENOOOOOOOO!
The Hollow Girl proved to be anything but, as she bucked Lemarchand from her domineering cover with half a heartbeat to spare. But whatever boasts she might’ve made earlier in the match it was apparent that the redhead was rattled; where previously she had pushed straight back to vertical, now she slopped over onto her front and pushed up to her knees, seemingly scrambling over towards the corner to give herself a ladder back up.
Whatever the plan might have been it doesn’t come to fruition, Lenore intercepting her just before reaching the corner and taking two big handfuls of auburn locks. “I guess it’s time we found out whether you really are hollow,” she mused, lifting one boot up to press into the back of Harriet’s neck. The Santa Fe girl had a half-second to regret moving towards the ropes and then she was stomped down, face slamming into the bottom turnbuckle!
Head bouncing upwards from the padded steel, Harriet let out a groan and dropped down onto it again, her third head impact in the last two minutes enough to leave her seeing stars. The position was a little too inviting for the Raven though, Lenore backing off to get a bit of a run up and then dashing back towards her prey. Hopping up into the air she bought one boot almost elegantly down on the nape of Harriet’s neck. The Hollow Girl’s features were rammed into the buckle, body slumping forwards in a damp heap.
Scrambling back to her feet, Lenore reached down to haul the splattered rookie away from the corner, turning her onto her back in the process. This time she was all business, hooking one leg up and holding it high and tight as she poured across Harriet’s pale form. After taking half a second to check that the redhead’s shoulders were down Carpenter dropped to begin his count, the crowd counting with him through
ONE
TWO
THRENOOOOO!
Carpenter’s hand had come so close to the three count that Lenore, usually so composed in the ring, even glanced at him and raised a slightly hopeful looking eyebrow. The referee only shook his head slightly in response, indicating that the redhead’s shoulder-first lunge off the canvas had come jut in time to prolong her night. But the look in the Raven’s eyes suggested that’s he might quickly come to regret that, ,especially when Lemarchand lifted the gasping woman’s torso up off the matt and corralled both her arms behind her back.
Tucking that far arm between her own legs, Lenore hooked the other into her own armpit to leave the Hollow Girl trapped while she still had one arm of her own totally free. The Crucifix lock seemed to be taken straight from the playbook of Mercy Ellis or Astrid white, but unlike them it seemed that Emily’s Lady in Waiting wasn’t in any rush to start raining down elbow strikes. Instead she seemed almost tender, caressing the trapped redhead’s face a little before leaving her hand over her left eye.
“You might remember that I tried to get your face clean in our first encounter,” Lenore purred, eying the two chevrons of facepaint over the FlC girl’s eye. Still groggy from the multiple shots to her head, it took a second for Harriet to register the words, but as soon as she did she started bucking wildly and trying to turn her head. G…get off!” she yelled, “don’t touch mOWWWW NO BYTCH!”
Lifting that free hand up, the Raven made a great show of extending one thumb and licking the tip as if to moisten it. Then she put it to work like a mother cleaning an errant child, rubbing vigorously at that elaborate eye makeup. The roar from the FAWNatics carried a serious undercurrent of ‘ooh’s at the disrespect, but this was as nothing to the bellow coming from Larkin’s mouth. After a few seconds of rubbing she managed to turn her head away again, Lemarchand temporarily distracted by the insistent voice of Al Carpenter.
“Get away from the eyes Lenore!” he demanded, “I know you two have a score to settle but I’m not letting you blind her.” The smile he received in return was almost sweet, at least until it came to the deadly look in the Raven’s eyes. “Don’t worry about it Al” she purred, “If Harry here was feeling a bit less concussed she’d tell you that the eyes are not here. No eyes here in this valley of dying stars, in this hollow valley…”
“If you’re going to quote Eliot at me don’t butcher it!” Larkin had spent the last twenty seconds or so wriggling her body around and now she reached out with one long, pale leg, managing to rest her tiptoes on the bottom rope. “Get her off!” she demanded of Al. He turned quickly, expecting to have to count the vengeful Raven down, and instead found her shoulders shaking in apparent mirth.
“Big tough Harriet Larkin!” she giggled. “You’ve spent the past three months telling me and everyone else that I can’t make you tap out, and then you need a rope break because I smudged your makeup?” She gave one last constriction before releasing Harriet’s arms, still chortling a little as she stood over the redhead. “Sharing a ring with me has definitely earned you some exposure but you’re really not doing that image any favours. I’d hate to see what happens if you break a nail.”
Harriet didn’t seem to be finding any of this very funny, pulling herself up to kneeling by the ropes. One hand came up to wipe the sweat-dampened hair form her eyes while the other came up in a middle-fingered salute aimed squarely at Lemarchand. But as the courtier swept in to make her pay for it Larkin’s obscenity transformed into a big swinging forearm smash, which landed somewhere just south of the waistband of the Raven’s togs and stopped her in her tracks.
Defying the dull ache in her head, Larkin scrambled to her feet, snatching one of the brunette’s arms and whirling around into a rapid Irish Whip which flung the smaller woman towards the far ropes. Despite the almighty shove Lenore’s movements were smooth and calculated, the Raven clearly readying some sort of counter. But for the first time in quite a while Harriet seemed one step ahead, charging in behind to deny any space for a counter and instead lift one boot up high to THUMP into Lenore’s forehead!
RUNNING BIG BOOT
www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8wa5ZHcujk
“EAT THAT YOU SMUG BYTCH!” The words were out of Harriet’s mouth even before she’d skidded to a stop, turning around and taking a second to enjoy the sight of Lenroe in a damp starfish in front of her. But there were still plenty of unanswered slights going around in the Hollow Girl’s head as she knee-walked over to the prone Raven, swinging one leg over to take a high mount.
“I’ve gotta admit, I underestimated just how obnoxious you could be.” Larkin reached down and gathered up both of the Raven’s arms, moving them above her head and crossing over at the wrists so she could restrain them with one hand. With her free hand she tapped Lenore lightly on the cheek a few times, waiting until the brunette was looking at her before continuing. “If you really wanted some tips about eye makeup you only had to ask,” she informed the wriggling Raven, “I’m no makeup artist but I’m sure we can improvise.”
“The only art you excel in is choking,” Lenore spat, “and we both know that’s comi…UGH AGH!” Uninterested in the Courtier’s prattle, Harriet raised her free arm up high and jabbed the point f her elbow down HARD into Lemarchand’s left eye socket. With nowhere to go, Lenore took the full force of the blow, head slammed into the canvas again by a second brutal elbow. A third, fourth and fifth quickly followed, Larkin only relenting in her torment when Carpenter’s bent to shout in her ear.
“GET OFF THE EYES!” he hollered. “Rein this shyt in now Harriet, or I have no choice but to disqualify you.” The Hollow Girl paused her barrage a second to take a deep breath and give him a withering look. “You seemed happy enough to let bird-brain here got at my eye as long as she was quoting poetry at you, so how about this. ‘I always wondered if she was sane, and there’s a certain restless brilliancy in her eyes that half led me to imagine she is’.”
Lenore might have admired the gambit if she wasn’t currently being pummelled as a result of it. Thankfully for her Al Carpenter wasn’t taken in for a second, counting quickly to four and then looking slightly relieved when Harriet gave up her abuse, although not before scowling in his general direction. By which time the redhead’s eye was already looking red and half-closed with swelling. The referee bent in concern but Harriet beat him to it, grabbing a handful of hair and dragging Lemarchand to a slightly wobbly seat.
“Shouldn’t have gone after the eyes, crow,” she told Lenore. “Now it’s going to be hard to see me doing this…” The redhead dashed off to her left, leaning heavily into the roeps and using their momentum to build up speed. Sure enough the Raven had to turn her head, doing so just as Larkin left her feet. The Low Angle Dropkick slammed her soles square into Lemarchan’ds face, a wet THUNK causing oooh’s of concern at ringside. No such worry from the Hollow Girl, she just concentrated on pouring herself over the insensate brunette and tiredly hooking up one leg as Carpenter dropped to count…
LOW ANGLE DROPKICK
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrlST75GJbo
ONE…
TWO…
THRNOOOO!
The beleaguered Raven rustled her wings with half a second to spare, thus prolonging her ‘Mania participation for at least another three seconds. Harriet didn’t quite pound a fist against the mat in disgust, but the look she shot Carpenter spoke volumes. The Hollow Girl was not happy and Lenore would suffer as a result. Treating herself to an uncontested double fistful of Lemarchand’s dark locks, Larkin peeled the other woman off the mat and stuffed a Kneelift into her belly before relinquishing the hair-hold on favor of a brawny Double Underhook. With the back of Lenore’s head wedged under her right arm, Harriet turned to all four sides of the arena so this gaggle of idiots could better understand her control.
“After careful consideration, I believe Eliot might have made a mistake.” she told the defenseless Courtier. “The end of the world isn’t an either or statement. It can come with a bang AND a whimper.”
She kicked her left leg forward and-- Lemarchand dropped to one knee, effectively thwarting that disastrous shadow. Of course it didn’t free her from the redhead’s clutches, as Larkin reminded everyone when she muscled Lenore back to verticality and-- Lenore took a knee again, whether as a show of calculated resistance or accumulated exhaustion no one could say. Harriet didn’t much care one way or the other, she was simply over tolerating the brat’s whims. So instead of trying for it yet again, the FLC’er sank into a deep crouch and YANKED Lemarchand from her place of penance all the way to a Powerbomb stall in one colossal dead-lift! Actually ‘stall’ was a bit of a misnomer as the Fair & Radiant Maiden never once came to a stop before Harriet caught her around the upper thighs and sat out to THAWHAM Lenore down on the back of her head and shoulders! Folded in half by the Tiger Driver, Lemarchand only kicked fitfully when Larkin leaned into her upturned haunches for the…
TIGER DRIVER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygT59MX-owY
ONE…
TWO…
THRENOOOOOOOO!
Emily’s Lady in Waiting wrestled free of Harriet’s grip to land stretched out flat on her belly mere inches from an incredulous Harriet Larkin. “You’re tough. There, I f*cking said it.” the Hollow Girl spat the admission even as she filled her hands with Lenore’s hair. “You’re more durable than I ever imagined, but here’s the thing, magpie.” Larkin hauled the both of ‘em up and drew Lemarchand in so they were forehead to forehead. “It’s not enough. It’s NEVER been enough.”
She traded the hair-hold for a Wristlock so Carpenter couldn’t complain, then stepped away and dropped a shoulder to send the Courtier racing at a corner on the far side of the ring. Lenore must’ve been running on fumes at that point, yet her autopilot was still functioning well enough to spin her around so she took the impact between her shoulders and not square in the sternum. The adjustment didn’t matter to Harriet in the slightest, as she was barely four steps behind her prey with an Avalanche Splash that’d accomplish what the corner had “NNNNGGGHHH!”
Lenore kicked her right leg up to THWHACK Larkin across the jaw with a big boot that sent the towering titian terror stumbling back toward the center of the ring. But the desperation resistance only stoked Larkin’s anger and she charged the buckles with every intent of-- Lemarchand marked her arrival with a Mule Kick aimed at Harriet’s jaNOOOO!
The Hollow Girl caught her rival’s ankles in midair, muscled ‘em up a little higher, then twisted around and threaded Lenore’s legs around her head so that the pits of the brunette’s knees were snug against her shoulders. Grinning triumphantly as she tore the dangling Courtier loose from her moorings, Harriet stomped away from the sanctuary of the ropes and snarled, “Told you, bird brain. It’s just not enouHEYEEERRRRHHHH BYTCH!”
Lenore didn’t so much escape the predicament as she did change it, the Fair & Radiant Maiden crunching her way into a slumped Electric Chair atop Larkin’s shoulders. Hardly the safest alternative considering Harriet’s strength and potential for violence, so Lemarchand curled her hands into claws and RAKED Larkin’s eyes as hard as she could! It was hardly sporting, not that either woman gave a damn until Lenore slipped off her perch and caught the Arizona Anarchist in a tight Waistlock. “Sneaky bytch, I’ll claw out your eyes for NNNNNNNGGGGGHHHH!”
APRON GERMAN SUPLEX:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZ3JT22PudQ
The Raven whipped backward in a high speed bridge she released at the apex to send the back of Larkin’s neck into the top turnbuckle with a low, ugly BWUUUNG! Harriet should’ve crumpled to her seat in a smoldering heap, so you can imagine Lenore’s surprise when the FLC powerhouse set her feet and clambered forth for “UNGH!” Lemarchand doubled her over with a Toe Kick, slapped on a Front Facelock and slung Harriet’s near arm across her shoulders. In the next instant she reached down with her right hand, grabbed Larkin’s right ankle and angled it across the redhead’s left thigh to create a sort of standing figure four. No submission attempt this however, as Lenore hooked Harriet behind the left knee and muscled her directly overhead before laying out to THAWHAM the Hollow Girl on the back of her head and shoulders.
BLEAK DECEMBER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-YmNe1MZgk
With Harriet splattered across the mat by an early taste of a particularly Bleak December, the FAWNatics begged Lenore to go for a cover and Lemarchand moved to oblige them only to draw back in wide-eyed shock when Larkin slopped onto her tummy and began to rise! Raking both hands through her hair as she scrambled for a workable plan, Lenore abruptly honed in on the redhead’s left wrist and grabbed hold. “Get up!” she demanded. “I said get up, Harriet!”
Larkin did, but not fast enough for the Courtier’s taste, so she kept reefing on Harriet’s wing until the redhead was vertical enough to send off with an Irish Whip… or not. Rather than let the tenacious tyro create any separation, Lenore planted her right foot behind Larkin and snugged the woozy anarchist’s right arm across her own midsection. Then she leaaaaaaned forward, a shift that bent Harriet back in an awkward bridge and let Lemarchand cinch her right arm around Larkin’s head in a Front Facelock. Those assembled for ’Mania were still figuring out these machinations when Lenore snapped down and back, the Raven landing flat while Harriet was SPIKED on the crown of her skull with one of the most emphatic DDT’s in recent memory. Transformed from a raging engine of entropy to the most platonic pacifist imaginable by the power of Lenore’s Nepenthean Dream, Harriet didn’t even twitch when Lemarchand collapsed across her chest and hooked the far leg for…
NEPENTHEAN DREAM:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfD1Iey46FA
ONE…
TWO…
THRNOOOOOOOO!
Harriet turned onto her stomach so late Carpenter had to throw a ‘don’t call it!’ signal to the Timekeeper to make sure the match didn’t end then and there!
Eyes closed so the cameras couldn’t record her astonishment for future generations, Lenore took several deep breaths, then dropped to all fours and leaned in to whisper in her opponent’s ear. “Still there, sweetheart? If I’m talking to anything other than muscle memory I’m begging you to get up and fi--”
Harriet reared back on her knees and began to rise even as Lemarchand did the same. “Guuuhhhh…. gonna wish you’d tried for another cover, magpie.” the Hollow Girl rasped. “Because what you did just then? That’s not begging. I’m gonna show you how to--”
Lenore stopped her with a double barreled middle finger salute, then hooked her thumbs together to transform it into her most defiant raven sigil yet. Larkin snarled, lunged for her and got more than she bargained for when Emily’s Lady in Waiting took her to the mat with a Drop Toe Hold. Up on her knees in the blink of an eye, Lemarchand trapped Larkin’s left calf in the vise created by the back of her right thigh and calf. From there she reached out with her left hand, grabbed Harriet’s chin and cranked it back just far enough to thread her left leg into place beneath the redhead’s jaw. An interesting set-up no doubt, but true understanding of Lenore’s trap didn’t dawn until she stretched out over Harriet’s body and planted on both hands. Doing so rolled Larkin onto her back a heartbeat before the Raven crossed her ankles to effectively trap her opponent’s head, left arm and left leg in a ‘just what the hell am I looking at?’ sort of triangle.
CRADLE OF AMONTILLADO:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yo0-hWiGZo
“TAP!” Lenore bellowed as pushed up as high as she could go while simultaneously squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeezing Harriet’s noggin between glute and calf. “TAP OUT, PRINCESS!”
Denied one whole side of her body, Larkin stretched her right leg as far as it’d go, yet she was still several feet removed from the ropes. “FUUUUHHHH….F*CK OFF BIRD BRAIN!”
Larkin’s free hand was stretched almost directly overhead, as if she was looking for a hidden set of strands. “I’LL NEVER UUUNNNNGGGGHHHH FAAAAAAAAAAHHHK STAAAAAAAAHHHP!”
Lenore rose up ‘n down, up n’ down, image of a woman powering through a hellacious set of push ups at the end of her work-- Harriet’s hand came down fast, the red-faced Hollow Girl tapping repeatedly on the dense, crushing meat of Lemarchand’s backside. Nodding in savage satisfaction, Lenore continued through a few more reps while the Announcer confirmed, “Ladies and gentlemen, your winner via submission… LENORE LEMARCHAND!”
Unhooking her ankles allowed Harriet to stretch out on her back in a defenseless sprawl, not that she didn’t offer a few choice curses when Lenore swung around into a Schoolgirl Pin that was mere inches from becoming a Front Face Sit. “Guuuuhhhh… get it over with, asshole.”
“Nothing about this contest of ours has been quick or merciful.” Lenore noted as she braced her thighs against Larkin’s cheeks. “Why would that change now?”
“Don’t think this is over. Not for one second.” Larkin glowered. “No one writes the end of this story but…f*ck, I hate you, you smug twat.”
Lenore tapped the tip of Harriet’s nose with her index finger, then treated it to a little pinch. “Know why I’m smug, Harry? Because I’m f*cking good at what I do. It’s why I’m up here and you’re down there.”
Harriet bristled, tried to push up but couldn’t escape the weight of Lemarchand’s mount. “You won tonight, magpie. Doesn’t mean you’ll win every night. Or ever MMMMMGHHH!”
Lenore clamped her thighs shut and slid forward, cutting off Larkin’s threat in an avalanche of backside. “Oh, don’t think of this as the end of the world, sweetie.” the Raven teased as she worked her tush back n’ forth atop the redhead’s protesting mug. “Think of it as a new beginning, better yet, an act of creation. And since creation is often a painful, violent process,” she prized her knees apart, grabbed a double handful of hair and pulled Harriet’s features that much closer, “I’d say a little whimpering is acceptable, don’t you?”
In the end Harriet groaned, hissed, cursed and gnashed before she slipped off into the dark. She didn’t whimper though, which Lenore counted in her favor. Breaking the seal after another ten seconds or so, she stood up and raised her sigil so that the shadow fell across Larkin’s slumbering face, a visual the broadcast held until it was time to cut away to hype video for the Lightweight Title tilt.