Post by walkindude on Sept 5, 2016 20:25:16 GMT
Jungle administration, two weeks ago
Christine Legare stepped briskly from the office and turned to face the chairs where the new girl had been waiting for some fifteen minutes. Astrid had showered and changed quickly after her match and now wore a plain white fitted tee, patterned gym leggings and trainers, looking more ready to go for a jog than talk business with one of the most feared wrestler-turned promoters in the country. Usually Legare loved to see the new girls at this moment; desperately hoping that their dream was about to be fulfilled and brimming with anxiety no matter how hard they tried to hide it. But there was something about this woman, maybe her imposing height and rigid posture, maybe the grey eyes which had apparently not strayed from a vacant thousand-yard stare throughout the fifteen minutes she had been waiting. Swallowing her disquiet Legare flashed a quick if insincere smile and said ‘Madame De Cyr will see you now.” Usually she would have then waited to hold the door and observe the stress response, but on this occasion she lowered her head and departed for her own office without glancing back as the new girl rose silently from the couch, murmured a thank you and moved to the door.
Once she had crossed the threshold Astrid paused, her eyes flicking around the room as she waited for some acknowledgement. Everything she had heard about De Cyr suggested that she valued old fashioned manners in her business affairs, and Astrid was happy to oblige this.
“Good evening, Madame White.” Anciline De Cyr rose from her office chair and offered a smile and a handshake. “Congratulations on your recent victory,” she continued as White moved forward, accepted her hand and then sat in the proffered chair on the opposite side of the large mahogany desk. “You and Mme Casta gave a great spectacle for our fans.”
“Thank you, Madame De Cyr.”
Anciline cocked her head slightly. She used that opening conversational gambit with almost every exciting new talent that came through her doors, and whilst the response varied considerably she would usually expect something more effusive than a simple acknowledgement. However, the woman was known to be something of an oddball, so she pressed on. “I am curious about your new ring name, cherie. I was given to understand that you were known mostly as ‘Aurora’ during your time in Japan. May I ask why this has changed?”
The Icelander’s voice remained expressionless, her odd mid-Atlantic accent adding to an air of narration rather than normal conversation. “When I arrived in Japan it quickly became clear that I was not ‘connected’ to the fans. I was advised to take on a Viking persona in light of my Icelandic heritage. This was singularly unsuited with both my personality and my fighting style, so instead I was encouraged to take on a Scandinavian ‘ice queen’ role. This was more successful, and I have retained some aspects of that Aurora presentation. But If I am to join the largest female wrestling promotion in the world I wish to do so as myself. Besides, FAWN already has a Scandinavian warrior and I understand Ms Halstrom is very proud and very successful. But FAWN does not have another me.”
“Je comprend, Mme White. But the name ‘stranger’ is not one most would choose. We have however had several who describe themselves as being alien, undead, monstrous and so forth. What quality makes you different?”
Astrid’s eyes had briefly wandered to take in the many wrestling awards displayed on the wall behind the desk. Now they snapped back to the older woman’s face, apparently appraising her before coming to a decision. “Mme De Cyr, I am a stranger. At this moment I am a stranger to you, to all whom I wrestle on this continent and to all who wish to watch me. I was a stranger as a Westerner in the rigid Japanese culture. A stranger as I studied alone at the National University of Singapore. A stranger when my family moved to that city when I was thirteen and already the tallest person in my school. And I was a stranger growing up in Reykjavik when all the other little girls shunned me and whispered ‘psycho’.”
The clipped accent had changed inflection slightly to indicate the inverted commas around that last word, but then continued as if reading a prepared statement. “It has never been fully explained why this might be the case. A number of education professionals have described me as having traits of Autism. My academic mentor Professor Markov believes I have a personality disorder, or may be a high-functioning sociopath. Regardless of label, it is clear that others do not understand me clearly, nor I them. I ‘lack empathy’, and others fear me. It’s believed that, to quote, I have ‘no innate understanding of the emotions and thoughts of others’. And Mme De Cyr, given your reputation for thoroughness in your business dealings, I believe you already know all of this.”
Anciline had been totally still during this monologue, drawing on all her poise and composure to avoid any reaction as the newcomer bared her weakness so openly. Besides, she had got most of this information from her sources in Japan. Instead of questioning further the Frenchwoman offered a smile and a nod of encouragement. “Thank you for explaining this cherie. However, I do not believe that you asked to meet me for the sole purpose of delivering this assessment. And so to business. What do you wish of me?”
If Astrid had expected any stronger response to her revelation she did not show it. “I have explained to you that I have been feared, for whatever reason, throughout my life. I have not been able to prevent this from happening, so instead I have chosen to embrace the phenomenon and study it. Specifically, I have academic interest in studying fear amongst athletes.”
“I am aware that your organization made a special request that I wrestle Sydney Deschain during her last Japanese trip before her retirement tour. I learned a great deal from these two matches, as their different outcomes should demonstrate, but the way in which Ms Deschain has mastered her own fear was the most interesting aspect for me. Following our second match, despite her frustrations around the draw result and my own limited social skills, Ms Deschain spoke to me at length about the experience of working in FAWN. She talked about the opportunities it brings, some of the tawdry things you encourage in the name of entertainment, and most importantly about the other athletes. You are blessed to have some of the greatest wrestlers in the world, and to Ms Deschain’s mind the very best share her mastery of fear. As such I would like to know, in the simplest terms possible, what you expect me to do I order to be able to study and to test myself against these fighters.”
This time Anciline allowed her eyebrows to display a modicum of surprise. But after all, underneath all that odd phrasing, the question was the same one she was asked by every newcomer. “Thank you for your honesty, cherie. Allow me to be similarly frank. FAWN has been aware of you for some time and there is no doubt that your ability and look are likely to be a unique asset for us. It is also clear that you are a complex character. I hope you will not be offended when I tell you that others describe you as being hard to work with, and you are also known to be reluctant to speak extensively in front of crowds, which is expected of a FAWN talent.”
Astrid still showed no reaction, so Anciline continued. “More importantly, whilst your skills and growing resume are impressant, you clearly have some developing still to do as a wrestler. Sydney spoke to me too after your matches. The women you wish to face are amongst the very greatest of a golden generation, and we do not believe you are a match for them yet. Despite Deschain being months from retirement she was able to beat you cleanly, and then fell to a draw due only to lack of time and her having fought the day before. You have other notable wins on your record, and you are an impressive fighter, but the reason you are here and not in Orlando is to show me that you are ready for FAWN.”
De Cyr leant back in her chair and studied the other woman, looking for any response that might give a clue to her thoughts. But Astrid remained neutral as ever, silently maintaining a searching stare as she had done for most of the conversation. Anciline again drew on her reserves of pride, holding her gaze and ignoring any discomfort as the silence continued beyond thirty seconds. Finally the brunette spoke.
“Firstly, I believe my second match with Ms Deschain was one of the last she had failed to win before embarking on a retirement streak which included defeats of almost all the greatest fighters in FAWN, including your co-promoter. I cannot claim that a draw was anything approaching a satisfactory result, but I shall not let that be held over my head as a failure.”
The tone was only slightly more arch than before. “Whatever you believe about me Mme De Cyr, I hope you realize that I am not an idiot. I am fully aware that I am not yet ready to match the true elite of your top division. But I have faced the best a continent has to offer and have left it as a success. Yet on my first night here I was paired with a fighter whom you must have known is not equipped to realistically threaten me. And so I carried her towards an entertaining spectacle to prevent my debut from becoming farce. I assume you hoped I would show off some sadistic streak, try to humiliate or demean Ms Andrews to titillate the crowd and give you some new freak show to promote. But I am not a monster; I am a wrestler. And wrestlers seek to face the best. That is why my fight with Ms Casta was more spectacular. So, if you doubt my ability, put me up against another of your best, and allow me to prove to you that I deserve the contract.”
Anciline De Cyr’s smile was that of a predator. “I see. But what you ask for is an opportunity which many women work for years here to achieve. One such is Mme Casta, who fought you so well. If I am to give you this opportunity, should I not offer the same to her?
“I have already studied and beaten Ms Casta. There is no need for a rematch.”
“Ah, but she feels differently, Cherie. And so do I. Frankly, Ariella Casta has a huge amount of potential but has never realized this. Prior to your match her last truly great fight was against Olivia Dare, then the lightweight champion, some seven years ago. But after fighting you she is now motivated like I have never seen her. So my suggestion is this…”
“Your last match was good enough for us to show it on to the crowds before one of our biggest FAWN shows. Ms Casta has been working and studying with our best trainers since that loss, and as such I expect her to perform to a stronger level when you face each other again. That match will be in the Jungle still, but played live on the screens as part of a FAWN house show. And hopefully this opportunity will be sufficient to allow both of you to show me you are ready to be in Orlando.”
Astrid’s posture had noticeably tensed as her boss spoke, and now her eyes narrowed almost accusingly, although she showed no sign of speaking. The silence spread again, both women’s eyes locked on the other, neither moving a muscle. Then, grudgingly, Astrid bobbed her head once in acknowledgement.
Anciline De Cyr’s smile spread, shark like, as the younger woman rose from the other side of her desk and turned to leave. “I look forward to seeing what comes next from you, Mme White. I think many others will be watching too.”
Pausing at the door, Astrid briefly glanced back over her shoulder, eyes narrowed in apparent frustration and lips pursed to speak. But in the end she only murmured “Thank you, mme De Cyr,” and quietly closed the door.
FAWN Weekly show, Orlando, August
“Ladies and gentlemen, may I ask you to direct your attention to the FAWNtrons visible around the arena. Due to popular demand, tonight’s next event will be a rematch presented live via satellite from our sister promotion in Bangor, Maine, The Jungle!”
The buzz from the crowd in Orlando, many of whom were still finding their seats, rose a little. Jungle matches in general were always popular, the developmental girls were sure to give everything they had whenever they got a shot on FAWN TV. But any noise was dwarfed by the roar coming through the screens from the loyal fans in Bangor, who were keen to share their passion with the big league and excited at the prospect of one of the more intriguing Jungle rematches of recent times.
The FAWN announcer handed over to his developmental colleague, who greeted the cameras with a big smile. “On behalf of myself, our wrestlers, the backroom staff and this entire audience, we bid you all WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE!” Pausing to let the cheap pop from Bangor die down, the dapper young man continued. “Please welcome tonight’s contenders! First, standing at six feet and two inches tall and weighing in tonight at 139lbs, hailing from Reykjavik, Iceland…She is known as the Stranger…ASTRID WHITE!”
ASTRID WHITE:
The arena lights immediately dipped to a low dusk, as smoke filled the entryway and an odd insectoid clicking began to emanate from the speakers. Then a loud feminine gasp tore through the arena, followed by the bass drone and war drum of Radiohead’s ‘Climbing Up The Walls’. As the lyrics began, the smoke slowly drew back, revealing an impossibly tall and slender figure in the gloom.
The figure stepped forward slowly and deliberately, stepping with perfect timing into a bright white spotlight which appeared in the same instant. The Orlando crowd got their first glimpse of Astrid White, consisting mostly of legs which seemed to go on forever, black muay-thai boots stretching up to her knees and black boy-cut shorts which started an inch above the final curve of a pert derriere and ended at the bottom of an expanse of taut pale stomach. The girl’s upper torso was mostly obscured by an open leather jacket, but a small chest contained within a pure white sheer-panelled halter was just visible. Astrid’s deep hood conspired with the spotlight to pool her eyes in shadow, but her narrow mouth grew slowly and with no apparent reason into a frankly stunning smile, which then disappeared without trace.
Astrid’s stride doubled in pace, those legs taking her to the ring, up the steps and onto the apron in seconds. And then as Thom Yorke reminded the crowd that “It’s always best when the light is out,” White rocked her head back and the lights roared back to full power. As the cameras went into a close up of an oval face framed with chestnut hair Astrid stared right back, then raised one hand up with fingers splayed so that her grey-green eye formed the bar in a sideways ‘A’.
Astrid finished her display and hopped lightly over the ropes to head to the far buckles as the announcer moved on. “And please welcome her opponent. She stands at five feet ten inches tall and weighs in tonight at 131lbs…” (Astrid’s eyebrows rose a little at this, and a few in the crowd who were paying close attention were surprised to hear that the ‘world’s tallest lightweight’ was apparently no more.) “Hailing from Los Angeles, California, please welcome…ARIELLA CASTA!”
ARIELLA CASTA:
Shakira’s ‘Whenever Wherever’ kicked out of the speakers, followed shortly behind by a vision of loveliness which the Jungle fans knew well and the FAWNatics quickly remembered from her exploits in Orlando. Ariella Casta beamed as she waved to the crowd, her pretty face and golden skin accentuated by the royal blue two-piece which paid tribute to her proud Cuban heritage through stripes of red and white. White boots and kneepads finished her outfit, highlighting another pair of long stems which were as lovely as any seen on that stage but also rippling with muscular menace. In fact it quickly became clear that those few extra pounds hadn’t come from overeating; the tawny beauty fair glistened with lean muscle.
Ariella was known for her girlish excitement any time she took to the stage and this was still apparent as she twirled, waved, and slapped hands with as many of the Jungle crowd as she could, reserving a special kiss blown through the cameras and out into the FAWN arena which was welcoming her just as enthusiastically. But Casta’s excitement seemed a little more controlled this time, and it was notable that even as she played the crowd those big dark eyes rarely deviated from the figure already in the ring.
Finally feeling that she had pressed enough flesh, the leggy lovely sprinted neatly to the apron and slid under the bottom rope, popping to her feet and offering another big wave to the cameras. Then, eyes back locked on her opponent, she moved fluidly to her corner.
Satisfied that both fighters were free of foreign objects and ready to go, the developmental ref waved his arm and the bell clanged. As in the pair’s first fight Ariella was immediately out of her corner, bounding to centre ring and again offering a handshake, although this time her whole stance was a lot more competitive than friendly.
Face perfectly neutral, Astrid pushed back off the buckles and moved deliberately to within reaching range. And then, again aping the pair’s last match, she swung out a long, lazy arm to slap the outstretched...Ariella became a blur of motion, her body spinning as her outstretched hand lifted and formed a fist, the motion turning into a beautiful spinning backfist which arced towards the unsuspecting Stranger’s jaw and…
…stopped perfectly still just millimetres shy of taking her head off.
Astrid’s eyes had gone wide, her fighting instinct immediately kicking in to flinch away from the blow which never came. Now off balance she scrambled away onto her knees, clear surprise showing as she glared up at the Angelino.
Ariella had maintained her textbook backfist pose for a second as her opponent had cringed away, now she dropped her outstretched arm and turned to face the surprised Icelander. “Last time you seemed to think you knew all about me, Astrid,” Casta spoke so quietly that only the two of them could hear. “I’ve been waiting for weeks to show you that you don’t.”
Still on one knee, Astrid seemed stuck for a heartbeat, and then that smile reappeared again, spreading across her face but never quite reaching her eyes. The two women held each other’s gaze for a second, then White sprung into motion, pushing up with her standing foot and whipping the other up into an arced crescent kick which was blocked calmly by Ariella a few inches from her temple. Then the Stranger spun away, backpedalling along the ropes and round to get herself a bit of distance.
Ariella was sure that she’d already put her opponent off balance and she was damn well going to capitalise on it. Setting off on a charge, she dived into a beautiful dropkick. Astrid was just able to twist to avoid the full impact, but the pure white boots still caught her in the side sending her sprawling into the corner.
And Casta kept the pressure up, following the Icelander into the corner and ramming a hard forearm into her open chest. Astrid covered up and brought one knee up, clearly looking to use her flexibility and leg strength to push the shorter woman away, but Ariella simply smacked her elbow down onto the rising expanse of creamy thigh to drive it back down and launched her other hand into a hard open palmed SLAP which turned the Stranger’s head.
By this point the developmental ref was complaining loudly about ropes and began his count, overexcitedly tapping Ariella on the shoulder as he did so. And she complied immediately, taking several steps back. Then, in another inverted echo of the pair’s first match, she bent those long legs into a neat curtsey and mockingly invited Astrid back into centre ring. The crowd ‘ooohed’ and jeered at the blatant mockery, and when White’s head had rotated back to centre the look in her eyes was again one of surprise.
Never breaking her glare from the smirking face of her opponent, Astrid took a second’s deep breath and then stepped quickly out of the corner, taking two quick steps forward and leaning into a collar and elbow tie up which Ariella happily met but immediately dropped to spin behind the taller woman and grasp a tight waistlock. “Are you feeling ok, chica?” The Latina whispered in her ear. “No bytchy remarks yet? Let’s see if we can keep that going.”
Casta went up on her tiptoes, trying to keep her angle as Astrid pushed her elbows down and worked them into the creases of her opponent’s arms. Then having apparently lowered the grip enough she bent sharply at the waist and reached for Casta’s ankle only to have her leapfrog over and set off swiftly to the ropes, returning with twice the momentum.
The flying Latina had an arm out ready to deliver a clothesline, the move clearly telegraphed so Astrid had time to step to the side and ready a counter kick. But instead the Stranger got double bluffed, Casta dropping her arm and ducking as the Icelander’s roundhouse flew harmlessly over her head. And the tawny beauty scored another psychological blow when she grabbed tight to the ropes and killed her momentum so that White’s attempted rebound kick whiffed harmlessly through the air and put her in an awkward spin. The Icelander spun back quickly, eyes now in an annoyed glare, then silently beckoned for another collar and elbow tie up.
Ariella seemed confident with her work so far, and stormed into the tie up with enough momentum to push the taller woman back a few steps. But then Astrid’s extra height came to bear, the Icelander halting the charge and pouring power through her legs to push forward. Casta seemed to be in full retreat when the Stranger unexpectedly reversed her direction of pressure, simultaneously yanking back and raising a knee to bury into the suddenly onrushing Cuban-American’s tummy.
The impact made both fighters stagger, Ariella bending at the waist and letting out an ‘oof’ as she stumbled back from the hard belly blow, Astrid turning sideways and planting her standing foot while the other whipped up into another textbook side kick. This one hit home, her heel thwacking hard into blue-clad sternum and standing the dark haired girl up. White spun again and threw her other leg, opening her hips so the arc kick curved round Ariella’s hasty attempt to guard her face and impacted the toe of her boot hard into her neck. And as the Cuban American gasped and staggered sideways Astrid swung that leg up again, this time describing a reverse arc so that the hook kick caught Casta across the undefended side of her face.
Ariella managed to turn her head a little at the last second so the impact of heel on face was only glancing. But that blow coupled with the preceding hard impact on her neck was enough to send her stumbling away to the relative safety of the ropes to regroup. Astrid tried to follow but the developmental referee was determined to make the most of his own chance on the big screens at FAWN and was quick to step in and say “back up Astrid, she’s in the ropes.”
Sparing an icy glare at the busybody in her way, Astrid reached around him and grasped for a handful of hair, only for the Cuban-American to snatch her wrist out of the air. Ariella pivoted her body, hauling the captured limb into an arm drag with had Astrid flying past the ref and into a rough somersault which left her seated facing the corner.
And Ariella again leaped in to take advantage, planting a hard soccer kick square into the expanse of creamy flesh in the small of Astrid’s back. The Icelander hissed and arched backwards, presenting Ariella with yet more opportunity for pain which she swiftly accepted. Stepping in close Casta brought one knee up hard into the Icelander’s spine, eliciting another hiss of pain, and then reached forward to grab both her elbows, pulling and sitting back hard to complete a seated surfboard.
Everyone in the arena knew that this wasn’t going to be a match-ending hold, but Astrid was still in significant discomfort as Ariella tried to fold her in two around her posted knee. Shaking her head to dismiss the ref’s over-eager questions about submission, Astrid first tried powering her arms out from her opponents clutches. But the combination of the unhelpful angle and Ariella’s strong grip meant that this went nowhere fast, so she changed tack, reaching out one long leg towards the ropes when her opponent began to speak.
“Last time we fought you gave me crap about being beaten up by Olivia Dare, bytch.” Ariella’s speech was slightly strained by the effort she was putting into the hold, but the satisfaction in her voice was still clear. “What you don’t know is that Olivia is a friend now, and she was happy to train me. And she’s made a whole career out of beating up tall bytches like you. So now I get to tell you exactly how I’m going to beat you.”
By this time Astrid had reached one black boot out to touch the bottom rope and the excitable ref was yammering about a break and actually pulling on Casta’s shoulder in his keenness to look good on camera. Ariella rolled her eyes at him, then leaned down and whispered “to be continued” before releasing the hold and rolling away. Taking a second to flex her back, White stood up to face her.
The noise from both the live crowd and the one via satellite and the eagerness of both fighters to make a statement had kept the match at a frantic pace so far, but now it seemed time to slow things down. Ariella’s invitation for another collar and elbow mid-ring was accepted, and for a few moments the two girls were locked together, faces close and arms rigid. The fight seemed to have reached an apparent stalemate when White broke her silence.
“Ariella Casta, you seem to think I will be intimidated by Ms Dare’s involvement in your training.” Astrid’s voice was still level, only occasional cracks betraying the effort she was pouring into the clinch. “I am pleased that someone so eminent has studied me, and eager to hear what she th…” The sentence cut off suddenly as White fired another knee up towards Ariella’s breadbox, only to have the lovely Latina reach smoothly down and hook an arm under her thigh before the shot could land. Casta quickly stood up straight and pulled her arm up, throwing the now overbalanced Stranger down onto her back.
Gazing down at the clumsy sprawl of pale limbs, Ariella smirked. “Olivia’s second lesson:” the Latina affected an overly severe English accent for her best Dare impression “she likes to throw a lot of knees from funny angles, but if you stay alert you’ll catch her off balance.” She then quickly dropped down and hooked a flailing leg for
ONE
TW…
Astrid kicked her off with authority and sat up, scrambling quickly round to grasp Ariella in a tight waistlock with both girls on their knees. Casta immediately pushed her elbows down into those encroaching arms, but gave up swiftly when Astrid hauled back and showed impressive power to bring both girls to their feet. And as soon as White’s feet were solidly planted she hauled again, bridging back and lifting her trapped opponent over and down in a simple but effective belly-to-back suplex.
BELLY TO BACK SUPLEX
www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9e0fvAUa_M
Taken completely off guard, Ariella somersaulted through a messy backwards roll and sat back on her knees, one hand up cradling the back of her neck. And this left her wide open when Astrid jumped to her feet and pounded a vicious buzzsaw kick into her sternum. Casta slammed down onto her back and White knelt beside her and hooked a leg for
ONE
T…
Ariella punched one arm up hard into the air and barrel rolled over. She was intending to get straight back up to her feet, but her momentum was stopped when a pair of strong arms grasped one wrist and stopped her momentum dead. Scambling with surprising speed, Astrid dived across the prone Angelino so that their bodies formed a T shape, then looped her legs around Casta’s free arm and immediately rolling her entire body over. Ariella found herself in an involuntary somersault, landing with her arms pinned in an uncomfortable crucifix hold.
“As I was saying,” Astrid spoke low into the captured girl’s ear, “your problem has never been whether or not you are friends with Olivia Dare. I explained your fear in our last match and yet you were so insistent on facing me again that you have become a nuisance. Have you confronted your fear, or have you just run to your friend to tell you everything will be alright.”
As last line was delivered with an audible sneer, the first time Ariella had really heard the icy bytch put any emotion into her voice. Usually she would have fired right back with the insults, but she could see that White had stopped talking and had one elbow raised ready to bring down on her unprotected head. So Ariella put her anger to different use, summoning up energy to raise her legs and roll right backwards again.
Astrid had to abandon her planned elbow strike to keep the hold in place, and realised too late that Ariella’s legs was now within reach of the ropes, a fact which she immediately took advantage of. The Icelander was just preparing to roll backwards again when the developmental ref stepped in and practically yelled “ropes, Astrid, get away.” White ignored this completely and gave another yank on the captive arms, but the man actually threw himself in between them, breaking her grasp.
The Stranger immediately leaped to her feet, looming wordlessly over the interfering man. And as he slowly rose, perhaps realising that he wasn’t in the safest predicament, Astrid hissed “the rules allow for a count of five on a rope break. If you will not enforce these rules I shall take matters into my own hands.” The now red-faced official started shouting about repeat offences and warnings, but White waved a dismissing hand and went back after her prey.
This little set-to had given Ariella plenty of recovery time. As Astrid stepped around the stripes and reached down to her, the crouching Latina swung one leg out and swept both her opponents ankles, leaving the tall girl to again crash in a sprawl of limbs.
Casta dived in, dropping an elbow to White’s chest and then reaching around her neck before rolling over into a basic reverse chinlock. And once she had the Icelander locked in tight Ariella again affected that severe English accent. “Lesson three: her centre of gravity is high. She should be easy to topple.”
Again White had seemed to be listening rather than trying to break free of the admittedly mundane hold, but now she started squirming her fingers into the strong grip on her chin, trying to break the Latina’s grasp. Ariella hung on for a few seconds but then rolled to her knees, now balanced alongside the Icelander. Then in one fluid movement she jumped to her feet and hopped up and sideways, still holding the chinlock so that one knee crashed hard into the prone girl’s spine.
A woosh of expelled air and a groan escaped from Astrid’s mouth, apparently spurring Ariella on to repeat the move. “Olivia said a lot of stuff about how I had to be ruthless and have a plan too,” she confided to the Icelander “actually she said a lot of the same things as you said. She just managed to not be a complete and total bytch.”
And then Casta decided to show off some of her new-found discipline and well-established balance, pushing up into a steady handstand over the groaning Stranger and then dropping down hard, driving both knees into her lower back.
HANDSTAND KNEEDROP @0.07
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cd5f3LvW7OI
And Ariella wasn’t finished yet. With White showing no signs of movement in the short term, Casta stepped to her feet and ran off, whipping off the ropes to return at a dead sprint. And she demonstrated another apparently new skill, springing forward into a handspring and then dropping down with devastating force, her right leg across Astrid’s back and her left smashing hard into the back of her neck.
RUNNING LEGDROP:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ynQANN39L0
By this point White could do very little but groan and reach awkwardly for her aching back as Ariella jumped to her feet, shook out her hair and raised both arms and shouting “Cmon, let me hear you!”, earning a loud cheer from the crowd. Spurred on, Casta reached down and hair-hauled the taller girl to her feet before capturing a rough front-facelock.
Astrid immediately powered up from the waist, yanking her way out of the Facelock and cocking an elbow. Unfortunately for her the Latina was still one step ahead, stealing one of the stranger’s signature moves by firing up a knee which buried in her stomach and doubled the tall girl right back over. “Lesson four” Casta again used her best British accent as she regained the front Facelock. “Astrid has bursts of energy in matches, you have to interrupt her before she gets going.”
Aching and winded, there was now nothing Astrid could do as her increasingly cocky opponent powered through her legs and lifted her skywards into vertical Suplex position. The Cuban-American lovely usually liked to stall at this position and drop back into a Brainbuster, but on this occasion she showed impressive power by pausing and holding for three long seconds then exploding over so that the Stranger smashed down onto her already damaged back.
The crunch of Icelandic back on canvas could be heard way out into the audience, with the subsequent groan from the Stranger being almost as loud. And the crowd, surprised but thrilled at the strength and skill being shown by their favourite, happily counted along as Ariella scrambled round and hooked a leg for
ONE
TWO…
Astrid swung her free leg hard off the floor, crunching up to land an awkward but solid-sounding knee in the encroaching Latina’s side which was enough to break the pin. Ariella winced at the impact and rolled away, getting steadily to her feet and turning back round to face a gasping Stranger sill laid out on the floor and holding her aching back.
With no sign that the Icelander was going to get up on her own, Casta decided to help things along, reaching down to grab one handful of chestnut hair and another of white halter top before hauling the pale beauty back to vertical. “She also told me to put on a bit of extra muscle. So now I’m stronger than you as well as faster.” With that the cocky Latina grabbed an arm and whipped the taller girl hard into the nearest corner.
The time on the matt had clearly allowed Astrid to clear her head a little. Flung hard into the corner and aware that Ariella was following her in, she showed surprising balance for someone so tall, making a graceful hop to plant one boot on the bottom buckle and push herself to the side just in time to avoid the onrushing Latina, who crashed chest-first into the top buckle.
Astrid immediately reached out a hand to push Casta’s stunned face back into the lightly-padded top of the ring post, then stepped behind her and pushed out one leg so that the Latina’s lower body was again pushed into the corner. Then, as the suddenly disorientated girl turned and stumbled out towards centre ring, White buried a boot deep in her tawny midriff, grasped her in a quick and sloppy Front Facelock as she bent forward from the blow, and fell back in a snap DDT.
FLOWING SNAP DDT:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NzZIuCh_5I
The sudden impact bounced Casta out of the Facelock and she lay on her side, the head drop leaving her briefly seeing stars. But the move had clearly had an impact on White too, the impact on her back having added further trauma to her already painful spine. Astrid clearly wanted to get up and capitalize on her potentially momentum-shifting DDT, but the combination of accrued damage and the energy she had burned meant that she was a lot slower than usual.
The crowd could clearly sense that whichever wrestler reached her feet first would probably have an advantage. And it looked like the Stranger was winning the race, taking advantage of her proximity to the ropes to give herself a ladder up and achieve her feet while Ariella was still on her knees in the centre of the ring. Not wanting to waste any more time, Astrid set off on a charge towards the wobbly-legged Latina, diving full length as she reached her. Casta saw nothing more than a brief pale flash in her peripheral vision before the Icelander’s elbow smashed her across the cheek and left her back down in a dazed heap courtesy of White’s ‘Snowblind’ elbow.
SNOWBLIND:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEHFAfrBmj0
And now, with no ropes around and no easy escape for the woozy Latina, Astrid decided she could go to work. She scrambled quickly to her feet and hair hauled Ariella to hers, then fired a vicious jumping knee into the point of her jaw. Ariella’s head rocked back, and she would have fallen flat backwards if not for White’s restraining hand on her shoulder.
But Astrid wasn’t holding her up out of kindness. Instead the Stranger shifted her grip to take a handful of luscious dark hair, pulling the Latina’s head down for two more nasty knee smashes to the face. Ariella belatedly reached up her arms to protect her head, leaving her chest open for a final knee strike which stood her up.
Astrid was clearly burning a lot of adrenaline, acting immediately even as her opponent reeled back. Striking like a snake, she snatched Ariella’s left wrist and pulled it down between her suddenly wobbly legs, transferring hands to keep a firm grip. Astrid then secured her free arm around Casta’s neck and planted her feet, hauling the captured girl up into Suplex position.
Usually at this point in proceedings Astrid liked to pause, giving the crowd a chance to pop before she completed the maneuver. But Ariella had been tenderizing her back all night and she wanted to get things sewn up quickly, so instead she just dropped back hard. The impact on her back caused a hiss of pain to escape between her teeth, but this was nothing compared to Casta, who crashed down on the back of her head and spread out into a wet starfish courtesy of the Wrist-Clutch Exploder Suplex Astrid called ‘Fear of Falling’. Astrid quickly scooched round to pin the Latina’s shoulders as the ref counted…
FEAR OF FALLING:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMLZ0rJsiJo
ONE
TWO
T…Ariella punched an arm up to break the cover and rolled onto her side.
The rapid accumulation of impacts to her head in the last two minutes had clearly shaken Ariella, but her tank wasn’t quite empty yet and she had made it to all fours when she became aware of the figure looming over her left side. Face betraying none of the frustration she must have been feeling, the Stranger raised her left boot off the canvas and reached a long arm down behind her, grasping her own toe and lifting it up and back gracefully into a sort of odd yoga pose. Then, with the crowd buzzing as they wondered what she was up to, Astrid released her suspended toe, the combination of muscle power and gravity giving it a vicious speed before it smashed with bone-shaking force into Casta’s ribcage.
ARABESQUE KICK @ 00:44
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dbt8lDK2abA
Ariella shrieked and collapsed back onto her side, a vicious red welt already forming under her hands. She would have happily stayed longer, but Astrid’s strong arms again clasped around her neck and hauled her up to near vertical. But before Casta could reach full footing, Astrid suddenly released her and sprinted off to the ropes, returning with even greater momentum to bear down on her stumbling prey.
Ariella had clearly seen her coming. With White steaming towards her at a dead sprint, Ariella burst into action, stepping forward into a crouch and then simultaneously grasping the surprised Icelander’s torso and powering upwards with her legs. At the apex of Astrid’s flight, Casta pushed with all the strength she had left and then spun and sat out hard, sending the Stranger flying down across the ring and smashing her spine down hard into the canvas-covered plywood courtesy of a Sky High.
SKY HIGH:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJPfnu9W0m4
This time Astrid’s groan was closer to a scream, the huge impact causing agony in her abused back. Ariella skidded to a stop across the ring, spinning and bounding back excitedly to put the finishing touches on the plan she had been executing all match. Nudging White’s moaning form over onto her front, Casta sat down by her head and scooched forward until the Icelander’s face was nestled snugly in the blue lycra over her crotch.
The lack of pressure on Astrid’s head meant that the position wasn’t quite a full smother, but the angle of pressure on her nose and the sweaty heat meant that she definitely wasn’t comfortable. The Icelander immediately planted her hands and tried to push up out of her predicament, but Ariella had a much better angle and was clearly the winner of the battle. So much so, in fact, that she could hold the struggling girl in with one arm while the other reached over to capture first one long Icelandic leg, and then the other.
“I hope you can hear me down there, bytch” Casta crowed to the captive audience between her legs. “This whole match I’ve told you how I was going to beat you, but you’re about to get ass-kicking 101.” Affecting that severe English accent for what she was sure was the final time, Ariella intoned “Lesson one, don’t worry about her limbs, just break her back”. With her final bit of teaching delivered Ariella tightened her grip on both captive ankles and leaned back hard, completing her vicious but rarely seen submission finisher the Cuban Crab.
CUBAN CRAB:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YHw-2y1bWk
The unique nature of the hold caused the crowd to reach their highest pitch of the match, the majority joining a loud ‘TAP’ chant but a significant minority starting the opposing ‘PLEASE DON’T TAP’, possibly more keen to see the match continue than any love of the Stranger. And Astrid certainly wasn’t feeling anything close to love, neck bent painfully backwards and head being forced into the uncomfortably moist darkness of her opponent’s crotch. But this was as nothing to the roaring flames of agony which consumed her back. The combination of pain, a very unfavorable angle for pressure and the accumulated damage throughout the match meant that White was quickly reduced to reaching desperately around her.
But this strategy was not as ineffective as either she or Ariella had expected. The combination of Astrid’s flight distance from the previous move and her genetic advantage of exceptionally long limbs meant that the ropes were not quite out of reach. Casta had overlooked this in her eagerness, but now the tips of White’s desperately questing fingers were able to just reach out and brush the bottom rope…
…And that brush was enough to make the over-eager developmental ref leap back into action. To his credit he did shout about a break but this was swallowed by the crowd noise, and in Ariella’s excitement she totally missed it. Instead she felt the ref shaking her shoulder and unsurprisingly took it as a sign that Astrid had submitted, immediately releasing her prey and busting out a huge grin as White flopped into a groaning pile. Indeed, it took a good ten seconds of leaping and shouting before Ariella (and the crowd) realised that the match was still live.
Neither the fans nor the confused Angelino took the situation well. With boos raining down from all sides of the Jungle, Ariella’s previous composure snapped, and she unleashed a torrent of fiery Spanish invective on the unlucky ref. Initially the man argued back, but after Casta had taken a handful of his shirt in order to make her point at even closer distance he clearly recognized the danger he was in. He quickly began backing away, gesturing urgently towards the slowly recovering Stranger as he did.
After a final complaint which was almost unintelligible apart from a very loud ‘puta’ at the end, Ariella turned her back on the red faced official. She’d had the bytch beaten and seconds from tapping before that stupid ref interfered, and now she stomped angrily back towards her intent on finishing what she’d already started. Unfortunately for her though, she’d underestimated both White’s resilience and her ability to do the unexpected.
Though she was still massaging her back, Astrid could clearly hear angry steps coming towards her and fell back into one of her own well practiced counter sequences. First she shot one long leg out in a powerful push from the hips, catching Ariella on the ankle with enough force to push her standing leg out from under her. Then as the surprised Latina toppled forward Astrid raised up her other leg, knee carefully posted so that Casta’s shocked face impacted hard into it.
Still barely aware that her opponent was even still in the match, Ariella saw nothing but painful stars for a few seconds. She instinctively rolled to her stomach to avoid any potential pin but this did not seem to deter Astrid. Instead the tall battler rolled over, looped one long arm around Casta’s neck, and rolled them both over, scissoring her legs and yanking back to complete the dragon sleeper she called ‘Fear of the Dark’.
FEAR OF THE DARK @ 00:16
www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_SX-AZOLz0
Casta immediately began squirming and flailing, but Astrid was clearly feeling strong enough to hold her tight, and demonstrated this by doing a bit of crowing. “Thank you for the detailed study of my skills, Ms Casta,” she purred. “You are better now than you were. But your plan has failed, and even with Ms Dare’s help you still don’t show what you are truly capable of. A shame.”
The strong arm across her windpipe kept Ariella from replying to this withering assessment, but her eyes narrowed and her already reddening face took on an even more flushed hue. But despite what this cocky bytch seemed to think, Ariella wasn’t quite done yet, a fact she demonstrated by squirming her hips around and then simultaneously popping them and bringing her arms down hard on Astrid’s encroaching gams. The twin impacts were enough to loosen the scissors a little, and Ariella immediately used this freedom to plant her feet and buck upwards, rolling them both back. This didn’t actually release the hold at all, in fact the angle made the pressure on her neck even worse. But crucially the Stranger’s shoulders were down on the matt, and the excitable ref immediately slid in to count
ONE
TWO
And Astrid broke the hold with a hiss of annoyance and rolled to her knees. Ariella stayed down in a heap, sucking in huge gasps of air and clearing the cobwebs, but her recovery was rudely interrupted by strong hands around her neck and shoulder. Astrid pulled the wheezing Latina to her feet and immediately lifted her up into a fireman’s carry position, apparently looking to end the evening by showing Casta ‘Fear Itself’.
Unfortunately for the Stranger she had made the same mistake as her opponent. Casta was definitely in bad shape but she was not so out of it that she didn’t struggle, and her wriggles and flails caused Astrid to take a few steps back to keep balance. This brought them both within reach of the ropes and Ariella grasped them life a lifeline. And, as before, the ref went into overdrive, shouting for a break and then again physically interposing himself even as he started his five count.
Ariella dropped back down to the canvas, landing with a light thump slightly behind and to the side of the referee. And that meant that the next action was controversial. Astrid, her face a mask of gelid rage, turned sideways and swung one foot up into a nasty hook kick. The target of the strike was something the fans would debate on the message boards over the next few hours, but regardless of White’s intention the arcing black boot heel ended up SMASHING directly into the developmental referee’s temple.
The poor man immediately went down in a heap. Astrid and Ariella both spared a long glance down at his unconscious form, but after his previous interference in their match neither seemed too disappointed that he was out. Both stopped short of actually kicking him out of their ring, although Casta looked like she was briefly tempted. Instead she launched herself straight over him, swinging wildly as she tried to take White’s head off with a haymaker.
Even at this point in the match Astrid was far too canny a fighter to get hit with such a telegraphed shot, and she swayed away as Casta’s fist whiffed past before stepping in behind the Latina to cinch a Waistlock. “Now we are alone and your plan is failing, Ms Casta,” she spoke low into the struggling girl’s ear. “And now we see if the fear has retuUUUUURGH…”
By this point management had dispatched a new ref to take the injured one’s place, but he was still halfway down the ramp when the second point of controversy emerged. Tired of hearing the Icelander’s yammering about fear, Ariella jerked sideways, looking to break the clinch and get back on her attack. But as part of this movement her left leg flicked up at the knee, with her heel burying itself squarely into the centre of Astrid’s black-clad trunks.
The shot was hardly the most vicious thing the average FAWN audience member had witnessed, and after reviewing the footage almost all fans agreed that it was unintentional. But for White, seasoned in the Japanese leagues where throwing such a blow meant extreme dishonor, a new and overwhelming pain spread out through her core. She immediately dropped any pretence of her Waistlock and held both hands to her aching centre, leaving her easy prey for what came next.
Ariella spun round with a final burst of vicious energy and knew only that her opponent was upright but bent forward and not defending herself. And she knew exactly what to do next. She first pulled White’s head between her legs, then hooked both of the taller girl’s arms so she was effectively stuck. “Class dismissed, chica” she muttered to her weakly struggling prey, before giving a much louder roar which was answered a thousand fold by the excited crowds in Bangor and Orlando. And with that ringing in her ears she launched herself, turning through a graceful somersault and then landing with knees up so that Astrid’s brutalised spine crashed down across the bony joints.
DYE CASTA
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkxo_Bz9sHI
White let out a scream but could do little else as Ariella jubilantly rolled her over and hooked a leg, the crowd helping the newly arrived ref along for
ONE
TWO
And THREE!
Casta released the pin and remained in a slumped seat for a second, tired but clearly thrilled to have evened things up with the woman who’d made her so angry. And, with the crowd bellowing their joy, she finally returned to the girlish excitement everyone was used to seeing, leaping to her feet, dashing to clamber up the nearest corner, and unleashing a huge fist pump which sent the already noisy audience into even greater raptures. Dropping off the buckles with a net thump, she then ran to the opposite ropes and raised a fist, her energy belying the intense match she had just been through.
In fact Ariella was so overwhelmed with the thrill of victory that she failed to notice that her opponent was no longer where she’d left her on the matt. Indeed, as Casta was celebrating with her delighted audience White had risen to her knees, then slowly to her feet, still clutching her agonized back. Those in the crowd who spotted her didn’t seem to know what to make of this, so Ariella had no warning when Astrid leaped off the canvas and brought her other foot around, up, and down hard in a huge jumping axe kick which nearly caved in the back of Ariella’s completely unprepared head.
Ariella lurched with the impact and then folded the rest of the way to the floor, with the Stranger looming over her as boos rained down from all sides. But White showed no interest in the crowd’s opinion, or apparently any more in Casta’s semiconscious form. Instead Astrid limped to the ropes, very gingerly lay flat to roll under, then staggered off up the ramp and through the curtain, both hands still pressed to her aching back and her ears ringing with Ariella’s music and the audience’s jeers.
-------------------------------------------------------------
The next morning, FAWN’s YouTube account posted a new video. The camera was moving hurriedly after Astrid White as she limped out of the Bangor Centre, with a somewhat out-of-breath reporter shouting her name. White turned, pausing to see who had called, but then turned back on seeing that it was just the TV crew. But the intrepid reporter was not to be deterred.
“Astrid!” The man demanded her attention. “Astrid, why did you kick Ariella when she beat you fair and square!” White paused again, then turned. The crew all took a step back, clearly fearing that they might be in for the same fate.
But Astrid merely stared at the man for a second, a look of incredulity in her eyes. And then, in a voice which suggested she was talking to a dull child, said “So that I get a rematch.” Then she turned back and pushed through the exit door to leave the camera crew behind.
Christine Legare stepped briskly from the office and turned to face the chairs where the new girl had been waiting for some fifteen minutes. Astrid had showered and changed quickly after her match and now wore a plain white fitted tee, patterned gym leggings and trainers, looking more ready to go for a jog than talk business with one of the most feared wrestler-turned promoters in the country. Usually Legare loved to see the new girls at this moment; desperately hoping that their dream was about to be fulfilled and brimming with anxiety no matter how hard they tried to hide it. But there was something about this woman, maybe her imposing height and rigid posture, maybe the grey eyes which had apparently not strayed from a vacant thousand-yard stare throughout the fifteen minutes she had been waiting. Swallowing her disquiet Legare flashed a quick if insincere smile and said ‘Madame De Cyr will see you now.” Usually she would have then waited to hold the door and observe the stress response, but on this occasion she lowered her head and departed for her own office without glancing back as the new girl rose silently from the couch, murmured a thank you and moved to the door.
Once she had crossed the threshold Astrid paused, her eyes flicking around the room as she waited for some acknowledgement. Everything she had heard about De Cyr suggested that she valued old fashioned manners in her business affairs, and Astrid was happy to oblige this.
“Good evening, Madame White.” Anciline De Cyr rose from her office chair and offered a smile and a handshake. “Congratulations on your recent victory,” she continued as White moved forward, accepted her hand and then sat in the proffered chair on the opposite side of the large mahogany desk. “You and Mme Casta gave a great spectacle for our fans.”
“Thank you, Madame De Cyr.”
Anciline cocked her head slightly. She used that opening conversational gambit with almost every exciting new talent that came through her doors, and whilst the response varied considerably she would usually expect something more effusive than a simple acknowledgement. However, the woman was known to be something of an oddball, so she pressed on. “I am curious about your new ring name, cherie. I was given to understand that you were known mostly as ‘Aurora’ during your time in Japan. May I ask why this has changed?”
The Icelander’s voice remained expressionless, her odd mid-Atlantic accent adding to an air of narration rather than normal conversation. “When I arrived in Japan it quickly became clear that I was not ‘connected’ to the fans. I was advised to take on a Viking persona in light of my Icelandic heritage. This was singularly unsuited with both my personality and my fighting style, so instead I was encouraged to take on a Scandinavian ‘ice queen’ role. This was more successful, and I have retained some aspects of that Aurora presentation. But If I am to join the largest female wrestling promotion in the world I wish to do so as myself. Besides, FAWN already has a Scandinavian warrior and I understand Ms Halstrom is very proud and very successful. But FAWN does not have another me.”
“Je comprend, Mme White. But the name ‘stranger’ is not one most would choose. We have however had several who describe themselves as being alien, undead, monstrous and so forth. What quality makes you different?”
Astrid’s eyes had briefly wandered to take in the many wrestling awards displayed on the wall behind the desk. Now they snapped back to the older woman’s face, apparently appraising her before coming to a decision. “Mme De Cyr, I am a stranger. At this moment I am a stranger to you, to all whom I wrestle on this continent and to all who wish to watch me. I was a stranger as a Westerner in the rigid Japanese culture. A stranger as I studied alone at the National University of Singapore. A stranger when my family moved to that city when I was thirteen and already the tallest person in my school. And I was a stranger growing up in Reykjavik when all the other little girls shunned me and whispered ‘psycho’.”
The clipped accent had changed inflection slightly to indicate the inverted commas around that last word, but then continued as if reading a prepared statement. “It has never been fully explained why this might be the case. A number of education professionals have described me as having traits of Autism. My academic mentor Professor Markov believes I have a personality disorder, or may be a high-functioning sociopath. Regardless of label, it is clear that others do not understand me clearly, nor I them. I ‘lack empathy’, and others fear me. It’s believed that, to quote, I have ‘no innate understanding of the emotions and thoughts of others’. And Mme De Cyr, given your reputation for thoroughness in your business dealings, I believe you already know all of this.”
Anciline had been totally still during this monologue, drawing on all her poise and composure to avoid any reaction as the newcomer bared her weakness so openly. Besides, she had got most of this information from her sources in Japan. Instead of questioning further the Frenchwoman offered a smile and a nod of encouragement. “Thank you for explaining this cherie. However, I do not believe that you asked to meet me for the sole purpose of delivering this assessment. And so to business. What do you wish of me?”
If Astrid had expected any stronger response to her revelation she did not show it. “I have explained to you that I have been feared, for whatever reason, throughout my life. I have not been able to prevent this from happening, so instead I have chosen to embrace the phenomenon and study it. Specifically, I have academic interest in studying fear amongst athletes.”
“I am aware that your organization made a special request that I wrestle Sydney Deschain during her last Japanese trip before her retirement tour. I learned a great deal from these two matches, as their different outcomes should demonstrate, but the way in which Ms Deschain has mastered her own fear was the most interesting aspect for me. Following our second match, despite her frustrations around the draw result and my own limited social skills, Ms Deschain spoke to me at length about the experience of working in FAWN. She talked about the opportunities it brings, some of the tawdry things you encourage in the name of entertainment, and most importantly about the other athletes. You are blessed to have some of the greatest wrestlers in the world, and to Ms Deschain’s mind the very best share her mastery of fear. As such I would like to know, in the simplest terms possible, what you expect me to do I order to be able to study and to test myself against these fighters.”
This time Anciline allowed her eyebrows to display a modicum of surprise. But after all, underneath all that odd phrasing, the question was the same one she was asked by every newcomer. “Thank you for your honesty, cherie. Allow me to be similarly frank. FAWN has been aware of you for some time and there is no doubt that your ability and look are likely to be a unique asset for us. It is also clear that you are a complex character. I hope you will not be offended when I tell you that others describe you as being hard to work with, and you are also known to be reluctant to speak extensively in front of crowds, which is expected of a FAWN talent.”
Astrid still showed no reaction, so Anciline continued. “More importantly, whilst your skills and growing resume are impressant, you clearly have some developing still to do as a wrestler. Sydney spoke to me too after your matches. The women you wish to face are amongst the very greatest of a golden generation, and we do not believe you are a match for them yet. Despite Deschain being months from retirement she was able to beat you cleanly, and then fell to a draw due only to lack of time and her having fought the day before. You have other notable wins on your record, and you are an impressive fighter, but the reason you are here and not in Orlando is to show me that you are ready for FAWN.”
De Cyr leant back in her chair and studied the other woman, looking for any response that might give a clue to her thoughts. But Astrid remained neutral as ever, silently maintaining a searching stare as she had done for most of the conversation. Anciline again drew on her reserves of pride, holding her gaze and ignoring any discomfort as the silence continued beyond thirty seconds. Finally the brunette spoke.
“Firstly, I believe my second match with Ms Deschain was one of the last she had failed to win before embarking on a retirement streak which included defeats of almost all the greatest fighters in FAWN, including your co-promoter. I cannot claim that a draw was anything approaching a satisfactory result, but I shall not let that be held over my head as a failure.”
The tone was only slightly more arch than before. “Whatever you believe about me Mme De Cyr, I hope you realize that I am not an idiot. I am fully aware that I am not yet ready to match the true elite of your top division. But I have faced the best a continent has to offer and have left it as a success. Yet on my first night here I was paired with a fighter whom you must have known is not equipped to realistically threaten me. And so I carried her towards an entertaining spectacle to prevent my debut from becoming farce. I assume you hoped I would show off some sadistic streak, try to humiliate or demean Ms Andrews to titillate the crowd and give you some new freak show to promote. But I am not a monster; I am a wrestler. And wrestlers seek to face the best. That is why my fight with Ms Casta was more spectacular. So, if you doubt my ability, put me up against another of your best, and allow me to prove to you that I deserve the contract.”
Anciline De Cyr’s smile was that of a predator. “I see. But what you ask for is an opportunity which many women work for years here to achieve. One such is Mme Casta, who fought you so well. If I am to give you this opportunity, should I not offer the same to her?
“I have already studied and beaten Ms Casta. There is no need for a rematch.”
“Ah, but she feels differently, Cherie. And so do I. Frankly, Ariella Casta has a huge amount of potential but has never realized this. Prior to your match her last truly great fight was against Olivia Dare, then the lightweight champion, some seven years ago. But after fighting you she is now motivated like I have never seen her. So my suggestion is this…”
“Your last match was good enough for us to show it on to the crowds before one of our biggest FAWN shows. Ms Casta has been working and studying with our best trainers since that loss, and as such I expect her to perform to a stronger level when you face each other again. That match will be in the Jungle still, but played live on the screens as part of a FAWN house show. And hopefully this opportunity will be sufficient to allow both of you to show me you are ready to be in Orlando.”
Astrid’s posture had noticeably tensed as her boss spoke, and now her eyes narrowed almost accusingly, although she showed no sign of speaking. The silence spread again, both women’s eyes locked on the other, neither moving a muscle. Then, grudgingly, Astrid bobbed her head once in acknowledgement.
Anciline De Cyr’s smile spread, shark like, as the younger woman rose from the other side of her desk and turned to leave. “I look forward to seeing what comes next from you, Mme White. I think many others will be watching too.”
Pausing at the door, Astrid briefly glanced back over her shoulder, eyes narrowed in apparent frustration and lips pursed to speak. But in the end she only murmured “Thank you, mme De Cyr,” and quietly closed the door.
FAWN Weekly show, Orlando, August
“Ladies and gentlemen, may I ask you to direct your attention to the FAWNtrons visible around the arena. Due to popular demand, tonight’s next event will be a rematch presented live via satellite from our sister promotion in Bangor, Maine, The Jungle!”
The buzz from the crowd in Orlando, many of whom were still finding their seats, rose a little. Jungle matches in general were always popular, the developmental girls were sure to give everything they had whenever they got a shot on FAWN TV. But any noise was dwarfed by the roar coming through the screens from the loyal fans in Bangor, who were keen to share their passion with the big league and excited at the prospect of one of the more intriguing Jungle rematches of recent times.
The FAWN announcer handed over to his developmental colleague, who greeted the cameras with a big smile. “On behalf of myself, our wrestlers, the backroom staff and this entire audience, we bid you all WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE!” Pausing to let the cheap pop from Bangor die down, the dapper young man continued. “Please welcome tonight’s contenders! First, standing at six feet and two inches tall and weighing in tonight at 139lbs, hailing from Reykjavik, Iceland…She is known as the Stranger…ASTRID WHITE!”
ASTRID WHITE:
The arena lights immediately dipped to a low dusk, as smoke filled the entryway and an odd insectoid clicking began to emanate from the speakers. Then a loud feminine gasp tore through the arena, followed by the bass drone and war drum of Radiohead’s ‘Climbing Up The Walls’. As the lyrics began, the smoke slowly drew back, revealing an impossibly tall and slender figure in the gloom.
The figure stepped forward slowly and deliberately, stepping with perfect timing into a bright white spotlight which appeared in the same instant. The Orlando crowd got their first glimpse of Astrid White, consisting mostly of legs which seemed to go on forever, black muay-thai boots stretching up to her knees and black boy-cut shorts which started an inch above the final curve of a pert derriere and ended at the bottom of an expanse of taut pale stomach. The girl’s upper torso was mostly obscured by an open leather jacket, but a small chest contained within a pure white sheer-panelled halter was just visible. Astrid’s deep hood conspired with the spotlight to pool her eyes in shadow, but her narrow mouth grew slowly and with no apparent reason into a frankly stunning smile, which then disappeared without trace.
Astrid’s stride doubled in pace, those legs taking her to the ring, up the steps and onto the apron in seconds. And then as Thom Yorke reminded the crowd that “It’s always best when the light is out,” White rocked her head back and the lights roared back to full power. As the cameras went into a close up of an oval face framed with chestnut hair Astrid stared right back, then raised one hand up with fingers splayed so that her grey-green eye formed the bar in a sideways ‘A’.
Astrid finished her display and hopped lightly over the ropes to head to the far buckles as the announcer moved on. “And please welcome her opponent. She stands at five feet ten inches tall and weighs in tonight at 131lbs…” (Astrid’s eyebrows rose a little at this, and a few in the crowd who were paying close attention were surprised to hear that the ‘world’s tallest lightweight’ was apparently no more.) “Hailing from Los Angeles, California, please welcome…ARIELLA CASTA!”
ARIELLA CASTA:
Shakira’s ‘Whenever Wherever’ kicked out of the speakers, followed shortly behind by a vision of loveliness which the Jungle fans knew well and the FAWNatics quickly remembered from her exploits in Orlando. Ariella Casta beamed as she waved to the crowd, her pretty face and golden skin accentuated by the royal blue two-piece which paid tribute to her proud Cuban heritage through stripes of red and white. White boots and kneepads finished her outfit, highlighting another pair of long stems which were as lovely as any seen on that stage but also rippling with muscular menace. In fact it quickly became clear that those few extra pounds hadn’t come from overeating; the tawny beauty fair glistened with lean muscle.
Ariella was known for her girlish excitement any time she took to the stage and this was still apparent as she twirled, waved, and slapped hands with as many of the Jungle crowd as she could, reserving a special kiss blown through the cameras and out into the FAWN arena which was welcoming her just as enthusiastically. But Casta’s excitement seemed a little more controlled this time, and it was notable that even as she played the crowd those big dark eyes rarely deviated from the figure already in the ring.
Finally feeling that she had pressed enough flesh, the leggy lovely sprinted neatly to the apron and slid under the bottom rope, popping to her feet and offering another big wave to the cameras. Then, eyes back locked on her opponent, she moved fluidly to her corner.
Satisfied that both fighters were free of foreign objects and ready to go, the developmental ref waved his arm and the bell clanged. As in the pair’s first fight Ariella was immediately out of her corner, bounding to centre ring and again offering a handshake, although this time her whole stance was a lot more competitive than friendly.
Face perfectly neutral, Astrid pushed back off the buckles and moved deliberately to within reaching range. And then, again aping the pair’s last match, she swung out a long, lazy arm to slap the outstretched...Ariella became a blur of motion, her body spinning as her outstretched hand lifted and formed a fist, the motion turning into a beautiful spinning backfist which arced towards the unsuspecting Stranger’s jaw and…
…stopped perfectly still just millimetres shy of taking her head off.
Astrid’s eyes had gone wide, her fighting instinct immediately kicking in to flinch away from the blow which never came. Now off balance she scrambled away onto her knees, clear surprise showing as she glared up at the Angelino.
Ariella had maintained her textbook backfist pose for a second as her opponent had cringed away, now she dropped her outstretched arm and turned to face the surprised Icelander. “Last time you seemed to think you knew all about me, Astrid,” Casta spoke so quietly that only the two of them could hear. “I’ve been waiting for weeks to show you that you don’t.”
Still on one knee, Astrid seemed stuck for a heartbeat, and then that smile reappeared again, spreading across her face but never quite reaching her eyes. The two women held each other’s gaze for a second, then White sprung into motion, pushing up with her standing foot and whipping the other up into an arced crescent kick which was blocked calmly by Ariella a few inches from her temple. Then the Stranger spun away, backpedalling along the ropes and round to get herself a bit of distance.
Ariella was sure that she’d already put her opponent off balance and she was damn well going to capitalise on it. Setting off on a charge, she dived into a beautiful dropkick. Astrid was just able to twist to avoid the full impact, but the pure white boots still caught her in the side sending her sprawling into the corner.
And Casta kept the pressure up, following the Icelander into the corner and ramming a hard forearm into her open chest. Astrid covered up and brought one knee up, clearly looking to use her flexibility and leg strength to push the shorter woman away, but Ariella simply smacked her elbow down onto the rising expanse of creamy thigh to drive it back down and launched her other hand into a hard open palmed SLAP which turned the Stranger’s head.
By this point the developmental ref was complaining loudly about ropes and began his count, overexcitedly tapping Ariella on the shoulder as he did so. And she complied immediately, taking several steps back. Then, in another inverted echo of the pair’s first match, she bent those long legs into a neat curtsey and mockingly invited Astrid back into centre ring. The crowd ‘ooohed’ and jeered at the blatant mockery, and when White’s head had rotated back to centre the look in her eyes was again one of surprise.
Never breaking her glare from the smirking face of her opponent, Astrid took a second’s deep breath and then stepped quickly out of the corner, taking two quick steps forward and leaning into a collar and elbow tie up which Ariella happily met but immediately dropped to spin behind the taller woman and grasp a tight waistlock. “Are you feeling ok, chica?” The Latina whispered in her ear. “No bytchy remarks yet? Let’s see if we can keep that going.”
Casta went up on her tiptoes, trying to keep her angle as Astrid pushed her elbows down and worked them into the creases of her opponent’s arms. Then having apparently lowered the grip enough she bent sharply at the waist and reached for Casta’s ankle only to have her leapfrog over and set off swiftly to the ropes, returning with twice the momentum.
The flying Latina had an arm out ready to deliver a clothesline, the move clearly telegraphed so Astrid had time to step to the side and ready a counter kick. But instead the Stranger got double bluffed, Casta dropping her arm and ducking as the Icelander’s roundhouse flew harmlessly over her head. And the tawny beauty scored another psychological blow when she grabbed tight to the ropes and killed her momentum so that White’s attempted rebound kick whiffed harmlessly through the air and put her in an awkward spin. The Icelander spun back quickly, eyes now in an annoyed glare, then silently beckoned for another collar and elbow tie up.
Ariella seemed confident with her work so far, and stormed into the tie up with enough momentum to push the taller woman back a few steps. But then Astrid’s extra height came to bear, the Icelander halting the charge and pouring power through her legs to push forward. Casta seemed to be in full retreat when the Stranger unexpectedly reversed her direction of pressure, simultaneously yanking back and raising a knee to bury into the suddenly onrushing Cuban-American’s tummy.
The impact made both fighters stagger, Ariella bending at the waist and letting out an ‘oof’ as she stumbled back from the hard belly blow, Astrid turning sideways and planting her standing foot while the other whipped up into another textbook side kick. This one hit home, her heel thwacking hard into blue-clad sternum and standing the dark haired girl up. White spun again and threw her other leg, opening her hips so the arc kick curved round Ariella’s hasty attempt to guard her face and impacted the toe of her boot hard into her neck. And as the Cuban American gasped and staggered sideways Astrid swung that leg up again, this time describing a reverse arc so that the hook kick caught Casta across the undefended side of her face.
Ariella managed to turn her head a little at the last second so the impact of heel on face was only glancing. But that blow coupled with the preceding hard impact on her neck was enough to send her stumbling away to the relative safety of the ropes to regroup. Astrid tried to follow but the developmental referee was determined to make the most of his own chance on the big screens at FAWN and was quick to step in and say “back up Astrid, she’s in the ropes.”
Sparing an icy glare at the busybody in her way, Astrid reached around him and grasped for a handful of hair, only for the Cuban-American to snatch her wrist out of the air. Ariella pivoted her body, hauling the captured limb into an arm drag with had Astrid flying past the ref and into a rough somersault which left her seated facing the corner.
And Ariella again leaped in to take advantage, planting a hard soccer kick square into the expanse of creamy flesh in the small of Astrid’s back. The Icelander hissed and arched backwards, presenting Ariella with yet more opportunity for pain which she swiftly accepted. Stepping in close Casta brought one knee up hard into the Icelander’s spine, eliciting another hiss of pain, and then reached forward to grab both her elbows, pulling and sitting back hard to complete a seated surfboard.
Everyone in the arena knew that this wasn’t going to be a match-ending hold, but Astrid was still in significant discomfort as Ariella tried to fold her in two around her posted knee. Shaking her head to dismiss the ref’s over-eager questions about submission, Astrid first tried powering her arms out from her opponents clutches. But the combination of the unhelpful angle and Ariella’s strong grip meant that this went nowhere fast, so she changed tack, reaching out one long leg towards the ropes when her opponent began to speak.
“Last time we fought you gave me crap about being beaten up by Olivia Dare, bytch.” Ariella’s speech was slightly strained by the effort she was putting into the hold, but the satisfaction in her voice was still clear. “What you don’t know is that Olivia is a friend now, and she was happy to train me. And she’s made a whole career out of beating up tall bytches like you. So now I get to tell you exactly how I’m going to beat you.”
By this time Astrid had reached one black boot out to touch the bottom rope and the excitable ref was yammering about a break and actually pulling on Casta’s shoulder in his keenness to look good on camera. Ariella rolled her eyes at him, then leaned down and whispered “to be continued” before releasing the hold and rolling away. Taking a second to flex her back, White stood up to face her.
The noise from both the live crowd and the one via satellite and the eagerness of both fighters to make a statement had kept the match at a frantic pace so far, but now it seemed time to slow things down. Ariella’s invitation for another collar and elbow mid-ring was accepted, and for a few moments the two girls were locked together, faces close and arms rigid. The fight seemed to have reached an apparent stalemate when White broke her silence.
“Ariella Casta, you seem to think I will be intimidated by Ms Dare’s involvement in your training.” Astrid’s voice was still level, only occasional cracks betraying the effort she was pouring into the clinch. “I am pleased that someone so eminent has studied me, and eager to hear what she th…” The sentence cut off suddenly as White fired another knee up towards Ariella’s breadbox, only to have the lovely Latina reach smoothly down and hook an arm under her thigh before the shot could land. Casta quickly stood up straight and pulled her arm up, throwing the now overbalanced Stranger down onto her back.
Gazing down at the clumsy sprawl of pale limbs, Ariella smirked. “Olivia’s second lesson:” the Latina affected an overly severe English accent for her best Dare impression “she likes to throw a lot of knees from funny angles, but if you stay alert you’ll catch her off balance.” She then quickly dropped down and hooked a flailing leg for
ONE
TW…
Astrid kicked her off with authority and sat up, scrambling quickly round to grasp Ariella in a tight waistlock with both girls on their knees. Casta immediately pushed her elbows down into those encroaching arms, but gave up swiftly when Astrid hauled back and showed impressive power to bring both girls to their feet. And as soon as White’s feet were solidly planted she hauled again, bridging back and lifting her trapped opponent over and down in a simple but effective belly-to-back suplex.
BELLY TO BACK SUPLEX
www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9e0fvAUa_M
Taken completely off guard, Ariella somersaulted through a messy backwards roll and sat back on her knees, one hand up cradling the back of her neck. And this left her wide open when Astrid jumped to her feet and pounded a vicious buzzsaw kick into her sternum. Casta slammed down onto her back and White knelt beside her and hooked a leg for
ONE
T…
Ariella punched one arm up hard into the air and barrel rolled over. She was intending to get straight back up to her feet, but her momentum was stopped when a pair of strong arms grasped one wrist and stopped her momentum dead. Scambling with surprising speed, Astrid dived across the prone Angelino so that their bodies formed a T shape, then looped her legs around Casta’s free arm and immediately rolling her entire body over. Ariella found herself in an involuntary somersault, landing with her arms pinned in an uncomfortable crucifix hold.
“As I was saying,” Astrid spoke low into the captured girl’s ear, “your problem has never been whether or not you are friends with Olivia Dare. I explained your fear in our last match and yet you were so insistent on facing me again that you have become a nuisance. Have you confronted your fear, or have you just run to your friend to tell you everything will be alright.”
As last line was delivered with an audible sneer, the first time Ariella had really heard the icy bytch put any emotion into her voice. Usually she would have fired right back with the insults, but she could see that White had stopped talking and had one elbow raised ready to bring down on her unprotected head. So Ariella put her anger to different use, summoning up energy to raise her legs and roll right backwards again.
Astrid had to abandon her planned elbow strike to keep the hold in place, and realised too late that Ariella’s legs was now within reach of the ropes, a fact which she immediately took advantage of. The Icelander was just preparing to roll backwards again when the developmental ref stepped in and practically yelled “ropes, Astrid, get away.” White ignored this completely and gave another yank on the captive arms, but the man actually threw himself in between them, breaking her grasp.
The Stranger immediately leaped to her feet, looming wordlessly over the interfering man. And as he slowly rose, perhaps realising that he wasn’t in the safest predicament, Astrid hissed “the rules allow for a count of five on a rope break. If you will not enforce these rules I shall take matters into my own hands.” The now red-faced official started shouting about repeat offences and warnings, but White waved a dismissing hand and went back after her prey.
This little set-to had given Ariella plenty of recovery time. As Astrid stepped around the stripes and reached down to her, the crouching Latina swung one leg out and swept both her opponents ankles, leaving the tall girl to again crash in a sprawl of limbs.
Casta dived in, dropping an elbow to White’s chest and then reaching around her neck before rolling over into a basic reverse chinlock. And once she had the Icelander locked in tight Ariella again affected that severe English accent. “Lesson three: her centre of gravity is high. She should be easy to topple.”
Again White had seemed to be listening rather than trying to break free of the admittedly mundane hold, but now she started squirming her fingers into the strong grip on her chin, trying to break the Latina’s grasp. Ariella hung on for a few seconds but then rolled to her knees, now balanced alongside the Icelander. Then in one fluid movement she jumped to her feet and hopped up and sideways, still holding the chinlock so that one knee crashed hard into the prone girl’s spine.
A woosh of expelled air and a groan escaped from Astrid’s mouth, apparently spurring Ariella on to repeat the move. “Olivia said a lot of stuff about how I had to be ruthless and have a plan too,” she confided to the Icelander “actually she said a lot of the same things as you said. She just managed to not be a complete and total bytch.”
And then Casta decided to show off some of her new-found discipline and well-established balance, pushing up into a steady handstand over the groaning Stranger and then dropping down hard, driving both knees into her lower back.
HANDSTAND KNEEDROP @0.07
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cd5f3LvW7OI
And Ariella wasn’t finished yet. With White showing no signs of movement in the short term, Casta stepped to her feet and ran off, whipping off the ropes to return at a dead sprint. And she demonstrated another apparently new skill, springing forward into a handspring and then dropping down with devastating force, her right leg across Astrid’s back and her left smashing hard into the back of her neck.
RUNNING LEGDROP:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ynQANN39L0
By this point White could do very little but groan and reach awkwardly for her aching back as Ariella jumped to her feet, shook out her hair and raised both arms and shouting “Cmon, let me hear you!”, earning a loud cheer from the crowd. Spurred on, Casta reached down and hair-hauled the taller girl to her feet before capturing a rough front-facelock.
Astrid immediately powered up from the waist, yanking her way out of the Facelock and cocking an elbow. Unfortunately for her the Latina was still one step ahead, stealing one of the stranger’s signature moves by firing up a knee which buried in her stomach and doubled the tall girl right back over. “Lesson four” Casta again used her best British accent as she regained the front Facelock. “Astrid has bursts of energy in matches, you have to interrupt her before she gets going.”
Aching and winded, there was now nothing Astrid could do as her increasingly cocky opponent powered through her legs and lifted her skywards into vertical Suplex position. The Cuban-American lovely usually liked to stall at this position and drop back into a Brainbuster, but on this occasion she showed impressive power by pausing and holding for three long seconds then exploding over so that the Stranger smashed down onto her already damaged back.
The crunch of Icelandic back on canvas could be heard way out into the audience, with the subsequent groan from the Stranger being almost as loud. And the crowd, surprised but thrilled at the strength and skill being shown by their favourite, happily counted along as Ariella scrambled round and hooked a leg for
ONE
TWO…
Astrid swung her free leg hard off the floor, crunching up to land an awkward but solid-sounding knee in the encroaching Latina’s side which was enough to break the pin. Ariella winced at the impact and rolled away, getting steadily to her feet and turning back round to face a gasping Stranger sill laid out on the floor and holding her aching back.
With no sign that the Icelander was going to get up on her own, Casta decided to help things along, reaching down to grab one handful of chestnut hair and another of white halter top before hauling the pale beauty back to vertical. “She also told me to put on a bit of extra muscle. So now I’m stronger than you as well as faster.” With that the cocky Latina grabbed an arm and whipped the taller girl hard into the nearest corner.
The time on the matt had clearly allowed Astrid to clear her head a little. Flung hard into the corner and aware that Ariella was following her in, she showed surprising balance for someone so tall, making a graceful hop to plant one boot on the bottom buckle and push herself to the side just in time to avoid the onrushing Latina, who crashed chest-first into the top buckle.
Astrid immediately reached out a hand to push Casta’s stunned face back into the lightly-padded top of the ring post, then stepped behind her and pushed out one leg so that the Latina’s lower body was again pushed into the corner. Then, as the suddenly disorientated girl turned and stumbled out towards centre ring, White buried a boot deep in her tawny midriff, grasped her in a quick and sloppy Front Facelock as she bent forward from the blow, and fell back in a snap DDT.
FLOWING SNAP DDT:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NzZIuCh_5I
The sudden impact bounced Casta out of the Facelock and she lay on her side, the head drop leaving her briefly seeing stars. But the move had clearly had an impact on White too, the impact on her back having added further trauma to her already painful spine. Astrid clearly wanted to get up and capitalize on her potentially momentum-shifting DDT, but the combination of accrued damage and the energy she had burned meant that she was a lot slower than usual.
The crowd could clearly sense that whichever wrestler reached her feet first would probably have an advantage. And it looked like the Stranger was winning the race, taking advantage of her proximity to the ropes to give herself a ladder up and achieve her feet while Ariella was still on her knees in the centre of the ring. Not wanting to waste any more time, Astrid set off on a charge towards the wobbly-legged Latina, diving full length as she reached her. Casta saw nothing more than a brief pale flash in her peripheral vision before the Icelander’s elbow smashed her across the cheek and left her back down in a dazed heap courtesy of White’s ‘Snowblind’ elbow.
SNOWBLIND:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEHFAfrBmj0
And now, with no ropes around and no easy escape for the woozy Latina, Astrid decided she could go to work. She scrambled quickly to her feet and hair hauled Ariella to hers, then fired a vicious jumping knee into the point of her jaw. Ariella’s head rocked back, and she would have fallen flat backwards if not for White’s restraining hand on her shoulder.
But Astrid wasn’t holding her up out of kindness. Instead the Stranger shifted her grip to take a handful of luscious dark hair, pulling the Latina’s head down for two more nasty knee smashes to the face. Ariella belatedly reached up her arms to protect her head, leaving her chest open for a final knee strike which stood her up.
Astrid was clearly burning a lot of adrenaline, acting immediately even as her opponent reeled back. Striking like a snake, she snatched Ariella’s left wrist and pulled it down between her suddenly wobbly legs, transferring hands to keep a firm grip. Astrid then secured her free arm around Casta’s neck and planted her feet, hauling the captured girl up into Suplex position.
Usually at this point in proceedings Astrid liked to pause, giving the crowd a chance to pop before she completed the maneuver. But Ariella had been tenderizing her back all night and she wanted to get things sewn up quickly, so instead she just dropped back hard. The impact on her back caused a hiss of pain to escape between her teeth, but this was nothing compared to Casta, who crashed down on the back of her head and spread out into a wet starfish courtesy of the Wrist-Clutch Exploder Suplex Astrid called ‘Fear of Falling’. Astrid quickly scooched round to pin the Latina’s shoulders as the ref counted…
FEAR OF FALLING:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMLZ0rJsiJo
ONE
TWO
T…Ariella punched an arm up to break the cover and rolled onto her side.
The rapid accumulation of impacts to her head in the last two minutes had clearly shaken Ariella, but her tank wasn’t quite empty yet and she had made it to all fours when she became aware of the figure looming over her left side. Face betraying none of the frustration she must have been feeling, the Stranger raised her left boot off the canvas and reached a long arm down behind her, grasping her own toe and lifting it up and back gracefully into a sort of odd yoga pose. Then, with the crowd buzzing as they wondered what she was up to, Astrid released her suspended toe, the combination of muscle power and gravity giving it a vicious speed before it smashed with bone-shaking force into Casta’s ribcage.
ARABESQUE KICK @ 00:44
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dbt8lDK2abA
Ariella shrieked and collapsed back onto her side, a vicious red welt already forming under her hands. She would have happily stayed longer, but Astrid’s strong arms again clasped around her neck and hauled her up to near vertical. But before Casta could reach full footing, Astrid suddenly released her and sprinted off to the ropes, returning with even greater momentum to bear down on her stumbling prey.
Ariella had clearly seen her coming. With White steaming towards her at a dead sprint, Ariella burst into action, stepping forward into a crouch and then simultaneously grasping the surprised Icelander’s torso and powering upwards with her legs. At the apex of Astrid’s flight, Casta pushed with all the strength she had left and then spun and sat out hard, sending the Stranger flying down across the ring and smashing her spine down hard into the canvas-covered plywood courtesy of a Sky High.
SKY HIGH:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJPfnu9W0m4
This time Astrid’s groan was closer to a scream, the huge impact causing agony in her abused back. Ariella skidded to a stop across the ring, spinning and bounding back excitedly to put the finishing touches on the plan she had been executing all match. Nudging White’s moaning form over onto her front, Casta sat down by her head and scooched forward until the Icelander’s face was nestled snugly in the blue lycra over her crotch.
The lack of pressure on Astrid’s head meant that the position wasn’t quite a full smother, but the angle of pressure on her nose and the sweaty heat meant that she definitely wasn’t comfortable. The Icelander immediately planted her hands and tried to push up out of her predicament, but Ariella had a much better angle and was clearly the winner of the battle. So much so, in fact, that she could hold the struggling girl in with one arm while the other reached over to capture first one long Icelandic leg, and then the other.
“I hope you can hear me down there, bytch” Casta crowed to the captive audience between her legs. “This whole match I’ve told you how I was going to beat you, but you’re about to get ass-kicking 101.” Affecting that severe English accent for what she was sure was the final time, Ariella intoned “Lesson one, don’t worry about her limbs, just break her back”. With her final bit of teaching delivered Ariella tightened her grip on both captive ankles and leaned back hard, completing her vicious but rarely seen submission finisher the Cuban Crab.
CUBAN CRAB:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YHw-2y1bWk
The unique nature of the hold caused the crowd to reach their highest pitch of the match, the majority joining a loud ‘TAP’ chant but a significant minority starting the opposing ‘PLEASE DON’T TAP’, possibly more keen to see the match continue than any love of the Stranger. And Astrid certainly wasn’t feeling anything close to love, neck bent painfully backwards and head being forced into the uncomfortably moist darkness of her opponent’s crotch. But this was as nothing to the roaring flames of agony which consumed her back. The combination of pain, a very unfavorable angle for pressure and the accumulated damage throughout the match meant that White was quickly reduced to reaching desperately around her.
But this strategy was not as ineffective as either she or Ariella had expected. The combination of Astrid’s flight distance from the previous move and her genetic advantage of exceptionally long limbs meant that the ropes were not quite out of reach. Casta had overlooked this in her eagerness, but now the tips of White’s desperately questing fingers were able to just reach out and brush the bottom rope…
…And that brush was enough to make the over-eager developmental ref leap back into action. To his credit he did shout about a break but this was swallowed by the crowd noise, and in Ariella’s excitement she totally missed it. Instead she felt the ref shaking her shoulder and unsurprisingly took it as a sign that Astrid had submitted, immediately releasing her prey and busting out a huge grin as White flopped into a groaning pile. Indeed, it took a good ten seconds of leaping and shouting before Ariella (and the crowd) realised that the match was still live.
Neither the fans nor the confused Angelino took the situation well. With boos raining down from all sides of the Jungle, Ariella’s previous composure snapped, and she unleashed a torrent of fiery Spanish invective on the unlucky ref. Initially the man argued back, but after Casta had taken a handful of his shirt in order to make her point at even closer distance he clearly recognized the danger he was in. He quickly began backing away, gesturing urgently towards the slowly recovering Stranger as he did.
After a final complaint which was almost unintelligible apart from a very loud ‘puta’ at the end, Ariella turned her back on the red faced official. She’d had the bytch beaten and seconds from tapping before that stupid ref interfered, and now she stomped angrily back towards her intent on finishing what she’d already started. Unfortunately for her though, she’d underestimated both White’s resilience and her ability to do the unexpected.
Though she was still massaging her back, Astrid could clearly hear angry steps coming towards her and fell back into one of her own well practiced counter sequences. First she shot one long leg out in a powerful push from the hips, catching Ariella on the ankle with enough force to push her standing leg out from under her. Then as the surprised Latina toppled forward Astrid raised up her other leg, knee carefully posted so that Casta’s shocked face impacted hard into it.
Still barely aware that her opponent was even still in the match, Ariella saw nothing but painful stars for a few seconds. She instinctively rolled to her stomach to avoid any potential pin but this did not seem to deter Astrid. Instead the tall battler rolled over, looped one long arm around Casta’s neck, and rolled them both over, scissoring her legs and yanking back to complete the dragon sleeper she called ‘Fear of the Dark’.
FEAR OF THE DARK @ 00:16
www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_SX-AZOLz0
Casta immediately began squirming and flailing, but Astrid was clearly feeling strong enough to hold her tight, and demonstrated this by doing a bit of crowing. “Thank you for the detailed study of my skills, Ms Casta,” she purred. “You are better now than you were. But your plan has failed, and even with Ms Dare’s help you still don’t show what you are truly capable of. A shame.”
The strong arm across her windpipe kept Ariella from replying to this withering assessment, but her eyes narrowed and her already reddening face took on an even more flushed hue. But despite what this cocky bytch seemed to think, Ariella wasn’t quite done yet, a fact she demonstrated by squirming her hips around and then simultaneously popping them and bringing her arms down hard on Astrid’s encroaching gams. The twin impacts were enough to loosen the scissors a little, and Ariella immediately used this freedom to plant her feet and buck upwards, rolling them both back. This didn’t actually release the hold at all, in fact the angle made the pressure on her neck even worse. But crucially the Stranger’s shoulders were down on the matt, and the excitable ref immediately slid in to count
ONE
TWO
And Astrid broke the hold with a hiss of annoyance and rolled to her knees. Ariella stayed down in a heap, sucking in huge gasps of air and clearing the cobwebs, but her recovery was rudely interrupted by strong hands around her neck and shoulder. Astrid pulled the wheezing Latina to her feet and immediately lifted her up into a fireman’s carry position, apparently looking to end the evening by showing Casta ‘Fear Itself’.
Unfortunately for the Stranger she had made the same mistake as her opponent. Casta was definitely in bad shape but she was not so out of it that she didn’t struggle, and her wriggles and flails caused Astrid to take a few steps back to keep balance. This brought them both within reach of the ropes and Ariella grasped them life a lifeline. And, as before, the ref went into overdrive, shouting for a break and then again physically interposing himself even as he started his five count.
Ariella dropped back down to the canvas, landing with a light thump slightly behind and to the side of the referee. And that meant that the next action was controversial. Astrid, her face a mask of gelid rage, turned sideways and swung one foot up into a nasty hook kick. The target of the strike was something the fans would debate on the message boards over the next few hours, but regardless of White’s intention the arcing black boot heel ended up SMASHING directly into the developmental referee’s temple.
The poor man immediately went down in a heap. Astrid and Ariella both spared a long glance down at his unconscious form, but after his previous interference in their match neither seemed too disappointed that he was out. Both stopped short of actually kicking him out of their ring, although Casta looked like she was briefly tempted. Instead she launched herself straight over him, swinging wildly as she tried to take White’s head off with a haymaker.
Even at this point in the match Astrid was far too canny a fighter to get hit with such a telegraphed shot, and she swayed away as Casta’s fist whiffed past before stepping in behind the Latina to cinch a Waistlock. “Now we are alone and your plan is failing, Ms Casta,” she spoke low into the struggling girl’s ear. “And now we see if the fear has retuUUUUURGH…”
By this point management had dispatched a new ref to take the injured one’s place, but he was still halfway down the ramp when the second point of controversy emerged. Tired of hearing the Icelander’s yammering about fear, Ariella jerked sideways, looking to break the clinch and get back on her attack. But as part of this movement her left leg flicked up at the knee, with her heel burying itself squarely into the centre of Astrid’s black-clad trunks.
The shot was hardly the most vicious thing the average FAWN audience member had witnessed, and after reviewing the footage almost all fans agreed that it was unintentional. But for White, seasoned in the Japanese leagues where throwing such a blow meant extreme dishonor, a new and overwhelming pain spread out through her core. She immediately dropped any pretence of her Waistlock and held both hands to her aching centre, leaving her easy prey for what came next.
Ariella spun round with a final burst of vicious energy and knew only that her opponent was upright but bent forward and not defending herself. And she knew exactly what to do next. She first pulled White’s head between her legs, then hooked both of the taller girl’s arms so she was effectively stuck. “Class dismissed, chica” she muttered to her weakly struggling prey, before giving a much louder roar which was answered a thousand fold by the excited crowds in Bangor and Orlando. And with that ringing in her ears she launched herself, turning through a graceful somersault and then landing with knees up so that Astrid’s brutalised spine crashed down across the bony joints.
DYE CASTA
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkxo_Bz9sHI
White let out a scream but could do little else as Ariella jubilantly rolled her over and hooked a leg, the crowd helping the newly arrived ref along for
ONE
TWO
And THREE!
Casta released the pin and remained in a slumped seat for a second, tired but clearly thrilled to have evened things up with the woman who’d made her so angry. And, with the crowd bellowing their joy, she finally returned to the girlish excitement everyone was used to seeing, leaping to her feet, dashing to clamber up the nearest corner, and unleashing a huge fist pump which sent the already noisy audience into even greater raptures. Dropping off the buckles with a net thump, she then ran to the opposite ropes and raised a fist, her energy belying the intense match she had just been through.
In fact Ariella was so overwhelmed with the thrill of victory that she failed to notice that her opponent was no longer where she’d left her on the matt. Indeed, as Casta was celebrating with her delighted audience White had risen to her knees, then slowly to her feet, still clutching her agonized back. Those in the crowd who spotted her didn’t seem to know what to make of this, so Ariella had no warning when Astrid leaped off the canvas and brought her other foot around, up, and down hard in a huge jumping axe kick which nearly caved in the back of Ariella’s completely unprepared head.
Ariella lurched with the impact and then folded the rest of the way to the floor, with the Stranger looming over her as boos rained down from all sides. But White showed no interest in the crowd’s opinion, or apparently any more in Casta’s semiconscious form. Instead Astrid limped to the ropes, very gingerly lay flat to roll under, then staggered off up the ramp and through the curtain, both hands still pressed to her aching back and her ears ringing with Ariella’s music and the audience’s jeers.
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The next morning, FAWN’s YouTube account posted a new video. The camera was moving hurriedly after Astrid White as she limped out of the Bangor Centre, with a somewhat out-of-breath reporter shouting her name. White turned, pausing to see who had called, but then turned back on seeing that it was just the TV crew. But the intrepid reporter was not to be deterred.
“Astrid!” The man demanded her attention. “Astrid, why did you kick Ariella when she beat you fair and square!” White paused again, then turned. The crew all took a step back, clearly fearing that they might be in for the same fate.
But Astrid merely stared at the man for a second, a look of incredulity in her eyes. And then, in a voice which suggested she was talking to a dull child, said “So that I get a rematch.” Then she turned back and pushed through the exit door to leave the camera crew behind.