Post by alyadmirer on Jun 10, 2016 8:57:15 GMT
Fans arriving early at the FAWN Arena were gifted with a special treat, a giant-sized replay of a Jungle match from earlier in the week that’d set the internet abuzz with the possibility of a series of matches between the participants. From the Mayhem logo, the FAWN’tron faded in on a shot of the Announcer calling forth his charges to the delight of the Bangor faithful…
“Ladies and gentlemen, the following contest is scheduled for one fall with a twenty minute time limit. Introducing first, hailing from Los Angeles California, she stands at five feet ten inches tall and weighs in at one hundred and twenty-five pounds, she is… ARIELLA CASTA!"
ARIELLA CASTA:
Shakira’s ‘Whatever…Whenever’ started to pump a Latin salsa beat into the audience, eliciting a loud roar in anticipation of one of the Jungle’s most passionate and, let’s be honest, smoking hot babyfaces. A heartbeat passed and the curtain was drawn back by the woman in question, a tall, brunette, light of skin but with piercing dark eyes and a pair of legs which seemed to go on forever.
Ariella Casta provided an enthusiastic wave and the crowd got louder. Any sight of someone so lovely was guaranteed to get a pop in Bangor Civic Centre, but the brunette made sure the enthusiasm went even higher, slapping hands on either side of the aisle and showing off a level of excitement which belied both her relatively long Jungle tenure and her difficulty in breaking out of the developmental territory.
Blowing kisses to the appreciative masses, the L.A. native with dashes of Cuban and Columbian, French and Italian, moved up the ring steps, those long, lithe legs clearly gaining the eyes of many a viewer in the front rows and beyond. The Angeleno’s attire consisted of a royal blue sports bra and red boy-cut trunks emblazoned with a white star on the front while red and blue boots completed the Cuban inspired number. Threading her torso between upper and middle ropes, Ariella slipped her gorgeous gams through the cables, then straightened to her full five foot ten and went on an excitable lap around the ring. Still barely containing her bubbly enthusiasm, Ariella finally settled in her corner and turned to face the ramp in expectation.
“And introducing her opponent. Standing at 6 foot one inch tall and weighing in tonight at 139 pounds, hailing from Reykjavik, Iceland, she is known as the Stranger…ASTRID WHITE!”
ASTRID WHITE:
The lights dimmed to a low dusk as feint, vaguely insectoid clicking sounds emerged from the speakers. Then as the entranceway began to fill up with heavy smoke a much louder noise, a female gasp, played through the arena, followed in immediate order by the opening low bass drone and snapping tom-tom of Radiohead’s ‘Climbing Up The Walls’. As the light raised just a little the smoke pulled back slightly, revealing a tall and slender silhouette. The figure stood motionless on the stage until the full drums in the song kicked in. Then the shape took a long stride forward, stepping with impeccable timing into a pure white spotlight which blazed down from behind her.
For Astrid White’s second appearance in the Jungle she was presented much the same as in her first. The crowd could make out two loooong legs, toned thighs highlighted by the knee-high black muay thai boots and a sliver of tight glute visible below the black boy-cut shorts. But As before her torso was mostly covered with a black leather jacket, open to reveal a glimpse of toned tummy and a sheer panelled white halter containing the modest swell of her chest. The broad jacket hood was up, conspiring with the angled spotlight to pool her eyes in shadow, but the lower half of her face was visible. As the music moved to the chorus a broad megawatt smile spread across the visible half of the newcomer’s face, appearing from nowhere and disappearing again.
The shadowed figure doubled the pace of her stride, long legs taking her quickly to the ring and up the steps to the apron. Then, as Thom Yorke reminded the crowd that “It’s always best when the light is out”, Astrid rocked back her head, the hood falling away exactly as the house lights came back on full beam. Giving a slight head shake to loosen her wavily bobbed chestnut hair, the Stranger cast a steady gaze over the crowd, then raised one long arm to her gorgeous pale face, fingers spread so that the grey-green iris of her right eye formed the bar in a sideways letter ‘A’ . Then she fluidly shrugged the jacket off, slipped over the top rope and came to rest lightly with her back against the nearby buckles.
The crowd were already in fine voice, most showing admiration for the sheer amount of long and lovely leg contained in the ring. Indeed, all throughout the arean there were whispered discussions about the relative merits of lightly tanned American stem or their creamy pale Scandinavian counterparts. And the noise level went louder still when the Cuban-American lovely stepped forward in an open stance and offered a hand. “I know you’ve already been round this ring, but I watched that match and it seems that puta Andrews didn’t give you a proper hello. Welcome to the Jungle.”
The Stranger’s gaze fell to the proffered hand and whilst her expression didn’t show it she was clearly considering the merits of returning the gesture. After a few seconds she stepped forward and stretched out a hand to lightly slap the American’s palm. It wasn’t quite a full handshake, but it seemed to be respectful enough to get the crowd cheering. Ariella took it as such too, but her eyes did narrow a bit, possibly more through her competitive desire than any upset. Apparently through with the welcoming, Casta crouched a little and brought her hands up in the classic collar and elbow stance, fingers beckoning the new girl to respond.
Astrid’s face lit up again, that smile appearing from nowhere as she strode in to complete the tie up with a meaty smeck. Long legs braced, toned arms straining and eyes locked tight on one another, the two beauties matched each other for a few seconds before the Stranger’s slight height advantage started to turn the tide her way. Slowly but surely the Icelander took one step, then another, then another, until Ariella found her back foot brushing the buckles. Her expression was one of grudging respect, which increased when Astrid immediately raised her hands and stepped away slightly at the Ref’s urging. The expression darkened though, and the audience gave a bit of an ‘ooooooooo’ when White raised her eyebrows and gave a sort of low curtsey, waving a hand to mockingly invite the comparative veteran back into the centre ring.
“Be careful how you go, new fish. You might be much too much for an angry dwarf like Demetria but you’re in with someone your own size now and we play to win here in Bangor.” With that Ariella dropped into a wrestler’s crouch and began to circle, this time looking to show the crowd who really had the best legs in the Jungle. A few paces away, White rolled her shoulders and slipped into a sideways striking stance.
Refusing to cede any part of the ring to the tall girl who was nonetheless a few inches below her own height, Astrid waited for Casta to circle close and then flicked out her front leg for a fast and low side kick which thwapped into the LA native’s thigh. Ariella seemed to ignore this, but as a repeat kick came in she quickly raised her shin and stepped forward to deflect the blow, then kicking up to land her own side kick into Astrid’s ribs. The Icelander stepped back slightly, ensuring that the blow was only glancing, but Casta still felt she’d come out of the exchange on top and wasn’t afraid to show it. “Oh yeah, I forgot to mention. You’re not the only one who likes to kick, sweetie. Let me show you.”
With that Ariella launched her other leg into a stiff front kick which would have buried hard into Icelandic tummy if the brunette hadn’t hurriedly stepped back a fraction ahead of time. But the Angelino took this as a cue to just go bigger, launching several side kicks at White’s bobbing head and then step-spinning into a roundhouse which the taller girl raised an arm to lazily block, the vicious foot smacking hard into her forearm. Rotating back to her original position Casta straightened slightly, gave a little shimmy and cocked her head to one side, clearly feeling pleased with the visually impressive assault even if it had only caught thin air. And the Stranger did seem to be impressed, a smile again creeping across her face, although noticeably coming nowhere near to her eyes.
And then the Icelander suddenly leaped into motion, closing the gap between the fighters in a flash and launching a forearm smash which took Ariella square in the chest. Astrid pressed her advantage, as her opponent reeled, reaching out to secure a muay thai clinch around the American girl’s neck and immediately pistoning a knee into her breadbasket. Still moving at top speed, White broke one half of the clinch and spun, using her hip as a pivot to toss the shorter girl into a rough forward tumble ending with her landing butt first on the matt. And again Astrid was off, running the ropes and returning fast to deliver a flying knee flat into Casta’s décolletage. The Cuban-American lovely’s back hit the matt hard and she flopped to one side, cradling her chest after the Stranger’s sudden assault.
FEAR OF FLYING:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cp23CkkXii4
Knee-sliding to a stop a few feet away, Astrid flicked her head back to remove any strands of hair from her eyes and turned to survey the damage. In her last match the Stranger had seemed to take delight in reaching a dominant position and then letting her opponent up to start all over again, but there was no sign of this tonight. Instead the brunette rolled smoothly back to her feet and ran the ropes again, this time moving perpendicular to the prone American. Returning at a dead run, White leaped high and brought her legs up under her, intending to squash the Latino lovely with a running knee drop. But despite her disorientation Casta saw this coming, having the presence of mind to roll at the last second and leave Astrid’s left knee to crash hard into the canvas-covered plywood.
Now the taller girl was the one cradling a hurting body part, and Ariella wasn’t about to let the sudden reversal of fortune go to waste. Scrambling quickly back to vertical she drew back one foot and slammed two quick soccer kicks directly into the vulnerable curve of the Stranger’s glutes. The crowd ate up this show of dominance over a rival derriere, but Casta seemed much more concerned with doing whatever she must to take some of the threat out of the Icelander’s lethal legs. As such she wasted no time in leaning down to grab an ankle, yanking up and planting her ass down on the brunette’s back to complete a simple but highly effective half boston crab which poured all the pressure through that already tender knee.
On the receiving end, Astrid let out a low groan, her first verbal utterance of the night so far, and reached out both long arms for the ropes. But the angle of her body meant that the nearest were several feet away and then from above she heard Ariella’s Hispanic tones. “Another thing chica. I don’t know if anyone’s told you the rules around here, but number one is that rope breaks are for pussies. If you can’t break this yourself you’re better off tapping right here and going back to Japan.” To emphasize this the lovely Angelino gave a hard tug on the captive joint, eliciting a more sustained groan from the stuck Stranger.
Astrid braced up a little to release the pressure, and apparently decided it was time to change her approach. “I have no interest in your rules, Ariella Casta, I am interested in fear. In your case this may be the fear of being a gatekeeper.” White pushed up on her hands as she spoke, her voice trying to stay calm and level despite the pain which was clearly coursing through the trapped leg. “A fear apparently so strong that you have begun to actively dispense your ‘rules’ to newcomers.” Casta frowned, unsure why the brunette had got so chatty all of a sudden. And Astrid chose that moment to move, crunching her midsection to perform an awkward somersault while rocking the Cuban-American forward, although Ariella had enough wherewithal to release the hold and plant a foot to she didn’t lose balance completely.
With White still laid out on her back, Ariella decided she’d done enough to that damaged knee for the moment, instead spinning into a full length dive and tucking forward to SMACK Astrid’s midsection with a standing senton. The Icelander gasped, all breath expelled at once from her gulping tummy. And Ariella added both insult and injury when she sat up and bounced on said stomach, seeming to enjoy the way her round derriere smacked further and further into the core of her opponent. “Sorry girl, can you say that again? All I can hear is wheezing.” Then she quickly leaned forward and pushed down on each of the Stranger’s shoulders for a quick
ONE
TWnnoooo
Astrid brought her flexibility into play again, crunching up and bringing one lovely long stem snapping up to drive a hard knee right between the shoulder blades of the unsuspecting Angelino. Casta’s face went shocked as the unorthodox knee strike drove her forwards, but White sat up a few inches and pushed her backwards again, whipping up the other knee at the same time so that Ariella’s tanned shoulders absorbed a second blow with even more force. And the Stranger only made matters worse, reaching up further to again secure that oh-so-dangerous neck clinch and then rolling back hard so that both fighters completed a messy somersault with the taller woman landing squarely on top. White then had her turn to put a disoriented Casta’s shoulders down for:
ONE
TWO
And Ariella rolled a shoulder up and spun to the side, her arms pressing to the matt to scrabble out from under the bigger woman. This didn’t seem to upset Astrid at all. “You have the physical gifts to succeed, and no small amount of skill. So it must be hard to confront the fact that your greatest achievement is being the answer to the quiz question ‘who did Amanda Jane Giardi beat in her first ever FAWN match’.”
Ariella had made it back to her haunches and now slowly rose up to her full height, her eyes locked on the other woman who was mirroring her movement. “I’d tell you that pretty soon my greatest achievement will be kicking your skinny ass all the way back to Japan” the pretty brunette snarled, “But we both know that fake spooky bullshit you spout will be forgotten long before I am.” Casta suddenly launched herself at the other woman arms reaching for a collar and elbow which was stopped dead when the Stranger buried a boot in her midsection. Astrid grabbed one handful of hair and the other of tights, pivoted daintily, and tossed the smaller woman hard into the nearby ringpost, Ariella’s shoulder impacting into the steel with a damp ‘SMACK’.
The LA native groaned, and would have fallen to her knees if it wasn’t for the strong hands which again grabbed hair and hauled her upright, pushing her in to lean chest-first on the buckles. The referee immediately shouted “Hey, out of the corner, White!”, but Astrid paid no mind. Instead she took a half step back and began pounding forearms across Ariella’s vulnerable brown back. The referee started his count, Astrid landing once for each of the first two called and then driving a knee up to land hard in the crease between glute and hamstring. This last shot pushed Casta up onto her toes, a sob escaping from her mouth and both hands flying to her noticeably reddening derriere. Careful not to give the ref any chance to DQ her, Astrid took a few steps back to break the count then charged forward again, landing a hellacious yakuza kick which she called ‘White Heat’ into the corner. Ariella took the impact full force on the side of her face, head whipping down and then knees buckling so the dazed beauty slumped down face first in the corner.
WHITE HEAT:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5UNz0UJhLU
Astrid had stepped back to regain her balance, but now she leaned down and grabbed the shorter girl’s ankles, hauling her out of the corner and then grabbing a quick half-nelson to roll her over and then hooking the far leg for
ONE
TWO
Thnooo
Ariella jerked back to life, punching a woozy arm up to break the count. With the fog in her head starting to clear she felt a pressure lift off her midsection as Astrid rose to her knees and then back to standing.
“You are strong too. You should be running roughshod through the lightweights of the world. And yet instead of working hard to overcome your failure, you run from confrontation and become everybody’s favourite doormat.”
Casta’s vision still hadn’t fully cleared, but the harsh voice had slowly moved away and then footsteps seemed to suddenly be coming back hard. Working entirely on instinct Ariella reached up and grabbed at the middle rope, at the same time rolling forwards so that Astrid’s intended rebound became a clumsy tumble out of the ring and a hard landing on the barely padded floor. The Icelander let out a loud moan and clutched at her knee, which had taken the brunt of the impact, as the ref began his slow count. He had reached a shouted THREE when a revived Ariella rolled out to join her.
The slender Cuban American wasn’t really accustomed to dealing punishment outside of the ring, preferring to show off inside it. But if this newcomer bitch was going to get so personal then she deserved anything Ariella could dish out. With that in mind she took a second to pose over the moaning Icelander, making sure the cameraman got a shot, before driving three quick soccer kicks into the creamy expanse of White’s back. Each of these drew a supplementary hiss from Astrid, who uncoiled like a snake after the third one and rolled over only to have a fourth kick buried in her taut belly.
“How’s that for fear, chica?” the furious battler demanded, this time aiming her vengeful boot into Astrid’s modest chest. “How’s that for running away? How about next time you think (SMACK) before(SMACK) you (SMACK) sp….” Astrid’s hand struck out like a viper, grabbing the toe mid-strike and then rolling hard to yank her over into a nasty enforced split. Ariella was flexible enough to take it, but the sudden jerking of her inner thigh muscles, coupled with the nasty keister bounce, caused her to let out a gasp of pain and slump down next to the Stranger as her hands flew to her aching derriere.
Unlike her opponent, Astrid was well acquainted with the damage potential of the area outside the ring. Glancing up as the ref shouted THIRTEEN, Astrid scrambled quickly to her feet, still favouring her back, and grabbed Casta by the waist. The Stranger gave a quick haul, lifting a stumbling Casta up onto her feet and then headfirst into the barrier. Ariella hit with a damp thud and slumped again, but White wouldn’t let her, shoulders straining but showing surprising power as she began to deadlift the prone Angelino. Ariella brought her legs underneath her and tried to push free of the taller girl’s grip, only for Astrid to anticipate this and use this power and her own spinning momentum to launch her up into a rough toss which left Casta hanging in the air for a second before gravity pulled her down into the barricade stomach-first.
Ariella gasped as her body folded limply around the barely padded concrete. And since it didn’t look like she was going anywhere, Astrid resumed her monologue. “You will eventually reach a day of reckoning, Ms Casta. Will you face your fears and learn discipline, or will you allow yourself to fall further until there is nothing left of the once-proud fighter?” This last word coincided with the rather worried sounding ref shouting EIGHTEEN, and with Ariella finally finding the energy to wetly push herself off the barricade. Grasping another handful of hair, White ‘helped’ the wheezing beauty over to the apron and pushed her under the ropes, following just as the ref reached NINETEEN.
Astrid had expected Ariella to be little more than a training dummy given how out of it she had seemed, so as she raised up to her knees she was surprised to find that the resilient LA girl was not only already vertical but had found the strength to stagger off and attempt a run back in. White leaped to her feet but was still not quite fast enough to prevent Casta from slamming into her with a flying forearm. Astrid reeled back at the blow, barely being able to reset herself as an enraged Ariella Casta stormed in and buried both hands in bobbed chestnut hair. And then, summoning all her remaining resources, Casta screamed a primal war cry and leaped in the air, kicking her legs out and hauling to SLAM Astrid’s face into the ground with her signature sitout facebuster.
SITOUT FACEBUSTER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4vAI8u3FrA
White was stunned by the desperation manoeuvre, barely able to separate the rush of blood in her aching head from the crowd’s roar after their favourite pulled something so deep from leftfield. Ariella clearly drew more strength from the sudden pop, hair hauling the taller girl unsteadily back to her feet and quickly whipping her off on a lope to the ropes. Astrid turned on instinct and was collecting herself fully on the run back in when she felt strong hands curl under both armpits and lift her up high, Casta using the full extent of her height and then pulling her hands sharply away to give White a long hard fall back to the unforgiving canvas.
SKY HIGH:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrrQQi7QCG8
By this time the Stranger was more like a groaning puddle on the floor. But Ariella was clearly still running on adrenaline, hair hauling the Scandinavian to all fours then placing one shin alongside her head and grasping at the far arm. Pausing for a second to whip the crowd up even more, Casta reared her head back and yelled “Jungle, I KNEED YOU!”, pausing just one second to hear the roar back before falling hard to smash the Icelander’s face into her shin in a beautifully modified neckbreaker.
I KNEED YOU:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJmrOSHMhwI
Ariella immediately rolled the stunned girl over onto her back and hooked a leg for
ONE
TWO!!
TH…
The ref’s hand was well onto it’s third descent, but Astrid clearly wasn’t quite ready to go yet, rolling up a shoulder and bucking the smaller woman off. Ariella sat back on her haunches and flashed three hopeful fingers at the ref. When he responded with only two, she shook her head and THWAMMM! Another of those lethal Icelandic knees, which Astrid seemed to be able to hit from almost any angle or position, flew up off the matt and into her kidney. But despite the surprise and pain Ariella was gratified to hear a little gasp from her opponent even as the knee landed; clearly all those earlier impacts had left one of the Stranger’s legs feeling pretty tender.
“You’re good, chica, but you’re not that good.” Ariella moved around to the side of the still recovering Icelander and raised a boot menacingly. “Being tall and talking big doesn’t make you anything special, and those legs of yours are going to be your biggest weakness. Let’s see how you deal with having your knee taken away from you.” Casta brought her boot down hard on Astrid’s kneecap, eliciting a loud wail and an immediate drawing in of the hurting stem. Casta turned and swung a leg out again, her boot thwacking again and again into the hurt limb as White squirmed on the canvas to get away.
Now clearly feeling pleased with her work, Ariella brushed her long dark hair out of her eyes and decided to u the ante again, sprinting for the far ropes and running back with the aim of landing a low dropkick right to the Stranger’s hurting leg. The first part of this went well, Casta whipping past and taking off at alarming speed. But Astrid had apparently seen her coming and made a last second roll to the side. With nothing to now absorb the high impact, Ariella landed hard on her legs and back and could do little more than wait for the pain and dizziness to subside. And at that moment her opponent pounced.
Burning a little alactic energy of her own, the Stranger spun up into a high kneeling position behind Ariella, locked one arm around her throat from the front, snaked her other hand behind to meet it and reared back hard, pulling the flailing Cuban-American down into her lap and crossing her knees to complete the scissored dragon sleeper she called Fear of the Dark.
FEAR OF THE DARK:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3u_7qDnqNR0
Her heart rate and breathing still recovering from all the adrenaline she’d burned in nearly putting the icy bitch away, Ariella now found the light taken away from her and her neck and back bent in a very awkward angle. Her left side was pressed up tight against Astrid’s chest and she could feel that the damn woman was breathing hard, which combined with the relatively light pressure on the scissors to let her know that she’d at least hurt the new girl pretty bad. But the compression of her throat from the angle was starting to limit her own breathing, and black spots were intruding onto her vision at an alarming rate.
Seated behind the gasping Cuban, Astrid White took steady breaths and let the ringing in her head and throbbing in her knee subside a little. She was aware that Ariella still had a little fight left in her, but also conscious that the last few minutes had hurt her a lot more than she’d be willing to let on. She was about ready to resume her monologue on psychology when she felt sharp fingers digging into the back of her knee. Usually this wouldn’t be nearly enough to break one of her signature chokes, but at this stage the damage inflicted on that joint turned the usually minor annoyance into a sharp burning pain which required action.
Astrid gave a yelp and unlocked her legs to get away from those prying Cuban fingers in her knee. And Ariella clearly expected this, immediately writhing her body until her free legs could worm to the ropes. The Angelino screamed ‘ROPES, REF’ as soon as she felt her feet brush the cables, and the sound of the ref immediately responding ‘Break it, White!’ turned the ringing in her ears into sweet relief. Astrid quickly complied so she could once again massage her throbbing knee, while Casta rolled over in a wet ‘splat’ and grasped at the ropes with both hands, simply enjoying the flooding of air back into her lungs.
After a few seconds the Stranger turned back, recognizing that putting Ariella away was more important than massaging her own knee. The Scandinavian rose to her full, impressive height and leaned down to grab some hair and ensure her opponent did the same. Tummy still heaving, Ariella showed little resistance as she was pulled up but then sprung to life, using almost the last of her resources to break the bitch’s hold on her hair and fling a quick forearm which would have landed square on Icelandic jaw if White hadn’t stepped back slightly and flicked up a toe kick which gutted her. Securing a loose grip around Casta’s neck, Astrid dragged them both two paces back and spoke much louder than she ever had previously, the audience at ringside finally able to hear a bit of what she was saying.
“I recall you earlier said that rope breaks were ‘for pussies’. And yet you used one a few moments ago. Well let me show you what we did to ‘pussies’ back in Japan.” Astrid popped her hips and hauled Casta up to almost vertical, then sat out hard, her tush taking a bit of a bump but not nearly equal to the impact of Ariella’s head slamming into the canvas courtesy of a Snap Brainbuster.
SNAP BRAINBUSTER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=75H9nEvxlP4
Casta spread bonelessly out into a starfish, dark eyes blinking rapidly up at the lights as she tried once again to clear her head. As such she paid very little attention to the mid-Atlantic tones which dropped to a much lower volume again as the stranger continued “I’ll let you into a secret. That may be what people do to pussies in Joshi dojos, but no-one there ever wanted anything to do with me outside of the ring, so I’ve no idea. I hope it sounded convincing. Anyway…”
Ariella begun to pay much more attention again when one long Icelandic arm curled around the back of her neck and yanked her over and up, Astrid spinning to one knee then up to her feet, and carrying the Angelino reluctantly with her. On regaining her feet Casta went straight back to struggling, firing off a woozy fist into White’s ribcage which elicited a grunt, but wasn’t enough to prevent her other wrist being forcibly grabbed and yanked down between her legs.
Ariella could recognise the danger of the predicament but didn’t quite have the wherewithal at this stage of the match to muster a second escape. All she could do was brace as the Stranger again set her hips and hauled her burden up into a fast suplex lift which then exploded over to send the poor girl SMASHing down hard on the back of her neck and shoulders in White’s signature ‘Fear of Heights’.
FEAR OF HEIGHTS:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMLZ0rJsiJo
Astrid sat smoothly up amidst the shallow-breathing wreckage of Ariella Casta, that smile once again spreading across her face. And as if finally noticing the crowd noise, positive and negative, which had been building to a crescendo for the last few minutes she sat up straight, threw her shoulders back and once again raised her hand to her eye, fingers spread so that her iris formed the bar in her sideways ‘A’ signal. The audience response couldn’t quite be described as overwhelming yet but the cameras did manage to pick up a smattering of people copying the symbol.
“You fight well, and you show good strategy in targeting my knee, but you should be so much more.” Astrid worked as she talked, rising slightly and moving to a high seat on the destroyed Cuban’s chest. “And what you are tonight is not enough.” Now White tucked those long legs up, leaning down to lift Ariella’s head up, one shin falling menacingly across tanned throat as the other stem snaked around her splayed arm and behind.
“I hope you can face your fear.”
With that Astrid rolled over to her back and pushed up hard with her hips whilst pulling back with both arms. And suddenly the elegant simplicity of her ‘Whiteout’ finisher became clear.
WHITEOUT:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDLSZE73l0Y
Casta’s eyes bugged as her throat was compressed hard against the silky steel of the Stranger’s shin. But as she flailed and reached for release it became clear that the other leg was compressing her shoulder just as hard at a painful angle whilst rendering the whole limb effectively useless. Ariella had one free hand and she used it to pry desperately at the steel encroaching on her windpipe, but it quickly became clear that Astrid had the choke locked in bone deep.
“You choose which you fear most, Ms Casta. Darkness or pain…”
Ariella’s legs began kicking and scrabbling furiously, but the combination of a poor angle and 139 lbs of Icelandic deadweight hooked around her neck made moving impossible. And so, with darkness encroaching on all sides of her vision, Casta weakly reached out and tapped the nearest available surface, which happened to be the Stranger’s creamy upper thigh, first gently and then with increasing urgency.
Astrid White initially held on to the hold, although it wasn’t clear if this was reveling in victory or just waiting to get absolute confirmation of her triumph. Then, as the bell rang loudly, she released her arms around Ariella’s neck and kicked up, sending the defeated Cuban to SPLAT wetly on the matt. After a few seconds to absorb the victory and hear the announcer call her name, the Stranger rolled over and fixed a grey-green glare on the woman she had beaten. “If you ever feel that you can face your fear, come and find me in Orlando. I should like to spar with you again.”
On the unfortunate end of a match once again, Ariella wasn’t really in the mood to hear any invitations and responded as such, weakly muttering “go fuck yourself you cocky bitch” which Astrid completely ignored. And with the night’s business over and done with, the Stranger rose to her haunches and then to her feet, gave another flash of her ‘A’ sigil, rotating slowly to take in the whole arena, and then stepped gently and not a little gingerly across the ring, through the ropes, and down off the apron. Landing with a muted ‘thump’ she took one last gaze around the audience, bent to collect her jacket which was still pooled on the floor, and then walked briskly back up the ramp, quickly disappearing to leave the audience and the carnage behind her.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the following contest is scheduled for one fall with a twenty minute time limit. Introducing first, hailing from Los Angeles California, she stands at five feet ten inches tall and weighs in at one hundred and twenty-five pounds, she is… ARIELLA CASTA!"
ARIELLA CASTA:
Shakira’s ‘Whatever…Whenever’ started to pump a Latin salsa beat into the audience, eliciting a loud roar in anticipation of one of the Jungle’s most passionate and, let’s be honest, smoking hot babyfaces. A heartbeat passed and the curtain was drawn back by the woman in question, a tall, brunette, light of skin but with piercing dark eyes and a pair of legs which seemed to go on forever.
Ariella Casta provided an enthusiastic wave and the crowd got louder. Any sight of someone so lovely was guaranteed to get a pop in Bangor Civic Centre, but the brunette made sure the enthusiasm went even higher, slapping hands on either side of the aisle and showing off a level of excitement which belied both her relatively long Jungle tenure and her difficulty in breaking out of the developmental territory.
Blowing kisses to the appreciative masses, the L.A. native with dashes of Cuban and Columbian, French and Italian, moved up the ring steps, those long, lithe legs clearly gaining the eyes of many a viewer in the front rows and beyond. The Angeleno’s attire consisted of a royal blue sports bra and red boy-cut trunks emblazoned with a white star on the front while red and blue boots completed the Cuban inspired number. Threading her torso between upper and middle ropes, Ariella slipped her gorgeous gams through the cables, then straightened to her full five foot ten and went on an excitable lap around the ring. Still barely containing her bubbly enthusiasm, Ariella finally settled in her corner and turned to face the ramp in expectation.
“And introducing her opponent. Standing at 6 foot one inch tall and weighing in tonight at 139 pounds, hailing from Reykjavik, Iceland, she is known as the Stranger…ASTRID WHITE!”
ASTRID WHITE:
The lights dimmed to a low dusk as feint, vaguely insectoid clicking sounds emerged from the speakers. Then as the entranceway began to fill up with heavy smoke a much louder noise, a female gasp, played through the arena, followed in immediate order by the opening low bass drone and snapping tom-tom of Radiohead’s ‘Climbing Up The Walls’. As the light raised just a little the smoke pulled back slightly, revealing a tall and slender silhouette. The figure stood motionless on the stage until the full drums in the song kicked in. Then the shape took a long stride forward, stepping with impeccable timing into a pure white spotlight which blazed down from behind her.
For Astrid White’s second appearance in the Jungle she was presented much the same as in her first. The crowd could make out two loooong legs, toned thighs highlighted by the knee-high black muay thai boots and a sliver of tight glute visible below the black boy-cut shorts. But As before her torso was mostly covered with a black leather jacket, open to reveal a glimpse of toned tummy and a sheer panelled white halter containing the modest swell of her chest. The broad jacket hood was up, conspiring with the angled spotlight to pool her eyes in shadow, but the lower half of her face was visible. As the music moved to the chorus a broad megawatt smile spread across the visible half of the newcomer’s face, appearing from nowhere and disappearing again.
The shadowed figure doubled the pace of her stride, long legs taking her quickly to the ring and up the steps to the apron. Then, as Thom Yorke reminded the crowd that “It’s always best when the light is out”, Astrid rocked back her head, the hood falling away exactly as the house lights came back on full beam. Giving a slight head shake to loosen her wavily bobbed chestnut hair, the Stranger cast a steady gaze over the crowd, then raised one long arm to her gorgeous pale face, fingers spread so that the grey-green iris of her right eye formed the bar in a sideways letter ‘A’ . Then she fluidly shrugged the jacket off, slipped over the top rope and came to rest lightly with her back against the nearby buckles.
The crowd were already in fine voice, most showing admiration for the sheer amount of long and lovely leg contained in the ring. Indeed, all throughout the arean there were whispered discussions about the relative merits of lightly tanned American stem or their creamy pale Scandinavian counterparts. And the noise level went louder still when the Cuban-American lovely stepped forward in an open stance and offered a hand. “I know you’ve already been round this ring, but I watched that match and it seems that puta Andrews didn’t give you a proper hello. Welcome to the Jungle.”
The Stranger’s gaze fell to the proffered hand and whilst her expression didn’t show it she was clearly considering the merits of returning the gesture. After a few seconds she stepped forward and stretched out a hand to lightly slap the American’s palm. It wasn’t quite a full handshake, but it seemed to be respectful enough to get the crowd cheering. Ariella took it as such too, but her eyes did narrow a bit, possibly more through her competitive desire than any upset. Apparently through with the welcoming, Casta crouched a little and brought her hands up in the classic collar and elbow stance, fingers beckoning the new girl to respond.
Astrid’s face lit up again, that smile appearing from nowhere as she strode in to complete the tie up with a meaty smeck. Long legs braced, toned arms straining and eyes locked tight on one another, the two beauties matched each other for a few seconds before the Stranger’s slight height advantage started to turn the tide her way. Slowly but surely the Icelander took one step, then another, then another, until Ariella found her back foot brushing the buckles. Her expression was one of grudging respect, which increased when Astrid immediately raised her hands and stepped away slightly at the Ref’s urging. The expression darkened though, and the audience gave a bit of an ‘ooooooooo’ when White raised her eyebrows and gave a sort of low curtsey, waving a hand to mockingly invite the comparative veteran back into the centre ring.
“Be careful how you go, new fish. You might be much too much for an angry dwarf like Demetria but you’re in with someone your own size now and we play to win here in Bangor.” With that Ariella dropped into a wrestler’s crouch and began to circle, this time looking to show the crowd who really had the best legs in the Jungle. A few paces away, White rolled her shoulders and slipped into a sideways striking stance.
Refusing to cede any part of the ring to the tall girl who was nonetheless a few inches below her own height, Astrid waited for Casta to circle close and then flicked out her front leg for a fast and low side kick which thwapped into the LA native’s thigh. Ariella seemed to ignore this, but as a repeat kick came in she quickly raised her shin and stepped forward to deflect the blow, then kicking up to land her own side kick into Astrid’s ribs. The Icelander stepped back slightly, ensuring that the blow was only glancing, but Casta still felt she’d come out of the exchange on top and wasn’t afraid to show it. “Oh yeah, I forgot to mention. You’re not the only one who likes to kick, sweetie. Let me show you.”
With that Ariella launched her other leg into a stiff front kick which would have buried hard into Icelandic tummy if the brunette hadn’t hurriedly stepped back a fraction ahead of time. But the Angelino took this as a cue to just go bigger, launching several side kicks at White’s bobbing head and then step-spinning into a roundhouse which the taller girl raised an arm to lazily block, the vicious foot smacking hard into her forearm. Rotating back to her original position Casta straightened slightly, gave a little shimmy and cocked her head to one side, clearly feeling pleased with the visually impressive assault even if it had only caught thin air. And the Stranger did seem to be impressed, a smile again creeping across her face, although noticeably coming nowhere near to her eyes.
And then the Icelander suddenly leaped into motion, closing the gap between the fighters in a flash and launching a forearm smash which took Ariella square in the chest. Astrid pressed her advantage, as her opponent reeled, reaching out to secure a muay thai clinch around the American girl’s neck and immediately pistoning a knee into her breadbasket. Still moving at top speed, White broke one half of the clinch and spun, using her hip as a pivot to toss the shorter girl into a rough forward tumble ending with her landing butt first on the matt. And again Astrid was off, running the ropes and returning fast to deliver a flying knee flat into Casta’s décolletage. The Cuban-American lovely’s back hit the matt hard and she flopped to one side, cradling her chest after the Stranger’s sudden assault.
FEAR OF FLYING:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cp23CkkXii4
Knee-sliding to a stop a few feet away, Astrid flicked her head back to remove any strands of hair from her eyes and turned to survey the damage. In her last match the Stranger had seemed to take delight in reaching a dominant position and then letting her opponent up to start all over again, but there was no sign of this tonight. Instead the brunette rolled smoothly back to her feet and ran the ropes again, this time moving perpendicular to the prone American. Returning at a dead run, White leaped high and brought her legs up under her, intending to squash the Latino lovely with a running knee drop. But despite her disorientation Casta saw this coming, having the presence of mind to roll at the last second and leave Astrid’s left knee to crash hard into the canvas-covered plywood.
Now the taller girl was the one cradling a hurting body part, and Ariella wasn’t about to let the sudden reversal of fortune go to waste. Scrambling quickly back to vertical she drew back one foot and slammed two quick soccer kicks directly into the vulnerable curve of the Stranger’s glutes. The crowd ate up this show of dominance over a rival derriere, but Casta seemed much more concerned with doing whatever she must to take some of the threat out of the Icelander’s lethal legs. As such she wasted no time in leaning down to grab an ankle, yanking up and planting her ass down on the brunette’s back to complete a simple but highly effective half boston crab which poured all the pressure through that already tender knee.
On the receiving end, Astrid let out a low groan, her first verbal utterance of the night so far, and reached out both long arms for the ropes. But the angle of her body meant that the nearest were several feet away and then from above she heard Ariella’s Hispanic tones. “Another thing chica. I don’t know if anyone’s told you the rules around here, but number one is that rope breaks are for pussies. If you can’t break this yourself you’re better off tapping right here and going back to Japan.” To emphasize this the lovely Angelino gave a hard tug on the captive joint, eliciting a more sustained groan from the stuck Stranger.
Astrid braced up a little to release the pressure, and apparently decided it was time to change her approach. “I have no interest in your rules, Ariella Casta, I am interested in fear. In your case this may be the fear of being a gatekeeper.” White pushed up on her hands as she spoke, her voice trying to stay calm and level despite the pain which was clearly coursing through the trapped leg. “A fear apparently so strong that you have begun to actively dispense your ‘rules’ to newcomers.” Casta frowned, unsure why the brunette had got so chatty all of a sudden. And Astrid chose that moment to move, crunching her midsection to perform an awkward somersault while rocking the Cuban-American forward, although Ariella had enough wherewithal to release the hold and plant a foot to she didn’t lose balance completely.
With White still laid out on her back, Ariella decided she’d done enough to that damaged knee for the moment, instead spinning into a full length dive and tucking forward to SMACK Astrid’s midsection with a standing senton. The Icelander gasped, all breath expelled at once from her gulping tummy. And Ariella added both insult and injury when she sat up and bounced on said stomach, seeming to enjoy the way her round derriere smacked further and further into the core of her opponent. “Sorry girl, can you say that again? All I can hear is wheezing.” Then she quickly leaned forward and pushed down on each of the Stranger’s shoulders for a quick
ONE
TWnnoooo
Astrid brought her flexibility into play again, crunching up and bringing one lovely long stem snapping up to drive a hard knee right between the shoulder blades of the unsuspecting Angelino. Casta’s face went shocked as the unorthodox knee strike drove her forwards, but White sat up a few inches and pushed her backwards again, whipping up the other knee at the same time so that Ariella’s tanned shoulders absorbed a second blow with even more force. And the Stranger only made matters worse, reaching up further to again secure that oh-so-dangerous neck clinch and then rolling back hard so that both fighters completed a messy somersault with the taller woman landing squarely on top. White then had her turn to put a disoriented Casta’s shoulders down for:
ONE
TWO
And Ariella rolled a shoulder up and spun to the side, her arms pressing to the matt to scrabble out from under the bigger woman. This didn’t seem to upset Astrid at all. “You have the physical gifts to succeed, and no small amount of skill. So it must be hard to confront the fact that your greatest achievement is being the answer to the quiz question ‘who did Amanda Jane Giardi beat in her first ever FAWN match’.”
Ariella had made it back to her haunches and now slowly rose up to her full height, her eyes locked on the other woman who was mirroring her movement. “I’d tell you that pretty soon my greatest achievement will be kicking your skinny ass all the way back to Japan” the pretty brunette snarled, “But we both know that fake spooky bullshit you spout will be forgotten long before I am.” Casta suddenly launched herself at the other woman arms reaching for a collar and elbow which was stopped dead when the Stranger buried a boot in her midsection. Astrid grabbed one handful of hair and the other of tights, pivoted daintily, and tossed the smaller woman hard into the nearby ringpost, Ariella’s shoulder impacting into the steel with a damp ‘SMACK’.
The LA native groaned, and would have fallen to her knees if it wasn’t for the strong hands which again grabbed hair and hauled her upright, pushing her in to lean chest-first on the buckles. The referee immediately shouted “Hey, out of the corner, White!”, but Astrid paid no mind. Instead she took a half step back and began pounding forearms across Ariella’s vulnerable brown back. The referee started his count, Astrid landing once for each of the first two called and then driving a knee up to land hard in the crease between glute and hamstring. This last shot pushed Casta up onto her toes, a sob escaping from her mouth and both hands flying to her noticeably reddening derriere. Careful not to give the ref any chance to DQ her, Astrid took a few steps back to break the count then charged forward again, landing a hellacious yakuza kick which she called ‘White Heat’ into the corner. Ariella took the impact full force on the side of her face, head whipping down and then knees buckling so the dazed beauty slumped down face first in the corner.
WHITE HEAT:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5UNz0UJhLU
Astrid had stepped back to regain her balance, but now she leaned down and grabbed the shorter girl’s ankles, hauling her out of the corner and then grabbing a quick half-nelson to roll her over and then hooking the far leg for
ONE
TWO
Thnooo
Ariella jerked back to life, punching a woozy arm up to break the count. With the fog in her head starting to clear she felt a pressure lift off her midsection as Astrid rose to her knees and then back to standing.
“You are strong too. You should be running roughshod through the lightweights of the world. And yet instead of working hard to overcome your failure, you run from confrontation and become everybody’s favourite doormat.”
Casta’s vision still hadn’t fully cleared, but the harsh voice had slowly moved away and then footsteps seemed to suddenly be coming back hard. Working entirely on instinct Ariella reached up and grabbed at the middle rope, at the same time rolling forwards so that Astrid’s intended rebound became a clumsy tumble out of the ring and a hard landing on the barely padded floor. The Icelander let out a loud moan and clutched at her knee, which had taken the brunt of the impact, as the ref began his slow count. He had reached a shouted THREE when a revived Ariella rolled out to join her.
The slender Cuban American wasn’t really accustomed to dealing punishment outside of the ring, preferring to show off inside it. But if this newcomer bitch was going to get so personal then she deserved anything Ariella could dish out. With that in mind she took a second to pose over the moaning Icelander, making sure the cameraman got a shot, before driving three quick soccer kicks into the creamy expanse of White’s back. Each of these drew a supplementary hiss from Astrid, who uncoiled like a snake after the third one and rolled over only to have a fourth kick buried in her taut belly.
“How’s that for fear, chica?” the furious battler demanded, this time aiming her vengeful boot into Astrid’s modest chest. “How’s that for running away? How about next time you think (SMACK) before(SMACK) you (SMACK) sp….” Astrid’s hand struck out like a viper, grabbing the toe mid-strike and then rolling hard to yank her over into a nasty enforced split. Ariella was flexible enough to take it, but the sudden jerking of her inner thigh muscles, coupled with the nasty keister bounce, caused her to let out a gasp of pain and slump down next to the Stranger as her hands flew to her aching derriere.
Unlike her opponent, Astrid was well acquainted with the damage potential of the area outside the ring. Glancing up as the ref shouted THIRTEEN, Astrid scrambled quickly to her feet, still favouring her back, and grabbed Casta by the waist. The Stranger gave a quick haul, lifting a stumbling Casta up onto her feet and then headfirst into the barrier. Ariella hit with a damp thud and slumped again, but White wouldn’t let her, shoulders straining but showing surprising power as she began to deadlift the prone Angelino. Ariella brought her legs underneath her and tried to push free of the taller girl’s grip, only for Astrid to anticipate this and use this power and her own spinning momentum to launch her up into a rough toss which left Casta hanging in the air for a second before gravity pulled her down into the barricade stomach-first.
Ariella gasped as her body folded limply around the barely padded concrete. And since it didn’t look like she was going anywhere, Astrid resumed her monologue. “You will eventually reach a day of reckoning, Ms Casta. Will you face your fears and learn discipline, or will you allow yourself to fall further until there is nothing left of the once-proud fighter?” This last word coincided with the rather worried sounding ref shouting EIGHTEEN, and with Ariella finally finding the energy to wetly push herself off the barricade. Grasping another handful of hair, White ‘helped’ the wheezing beauty over to the apron and pushed her under the ropes, following just as the ref reached NINETEEN.
Astrid had expected Ariella to be little more than a training dummy given how out of it she had seemed, so as she raised up to her knees she was surprised to find that the resilient LA girl was not only already vertical but had found the strength to stagger off and attempt a run back in. White leaped to her feet but was still not quite fast enough to prevent Casta from slamming into her with a flying forearm. Astrid reeled back at the blow, barely being able to reset herself as an enraged Ariella Casta stormed in and buried both hands in bobbed chestnut hair. And then, summoning all her remaining resources, Casta screamed a primal war cry and leaped in the air, kicking her legs out and hauling to SLAM Astrid’s face into the ground with her signature sitout facebuster.
SITOUT FACEBUSTER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4vAI8u3FrA
White was stunned by the desperation manoeuvre, barely able to separate the rush of blood in her aching head from the crowd’s roar after their favourite pulled something so deep from leftfield. Ariella clearly drew more strength from the sudden pop, hair hauling the taller girl unsteadily back to her feet and quickly whipping her off on a lope to the ropes. Astrid turned on instinct and was collecting herself fully on the run back in when she felt strong hands curl under both armpits and lift her up high, Casta using the full extent of her height and then pulling her hands sharply away to give White a long hard fall back to the unforgiving canvas.
SKY HIGH:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrrQQi7QCG8
By this time the Stranger was more like a groaning puddle on the floor. But Ariella was clearly still running on adrenaline, hair hauling the Scandinavian to all fours then placing one shin alongside her head and grasping at the far arm. Pausing for a second to whip the crowd up even more, Casta reared her head back and yelled “Jungle, I KNEED YOU!”, pausing just one second to hear the roar back before falling hard to smash the Icelander’s face into her shin in a beautifully modified neckbreaker.
I KNEED YOU:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJmrOSHMhwI
Ariella immediately rolled the stunned girl over onto her back and hooked a leg for
ONE
TWO!!
TH…
The ref’s hand was well onto it’s third descent, but Astrid clearly wasn’t quite ready to go yet, rolling up a shoulder and bucking the smaller woman off. Ariella sat back on her haunches and flashed three hopeful fingers at the ref. When he responded with only two, she shook her head and THWAMMM! Another of those lethal Icelandic knees, which Astrid seemed to be able to hit from almost any angle or position, flew up off the matt and into her kidney. But despite the surprise and pain Ariella was gratified to hear a little gasp from her opponent even as the knee landed; clearly all those earlier impacts had left one of the Stranger’s legs feeling pretty tender.
“You’re good, chica, but you’re not that good.” Ariella moved around to the side of the still recovering Icelander and raised a boot menacingly. “Being tall and talking big doesn’t make you anything special, and those legs of yours are going to be your biggest weakness. Let’s see how you deal with having your knee taken away from you.” Casta brought her boot down hard on Astrid’s kneecap, eliciting a loud wail and an immediate drawing in of the hurting stem. Casta turned and swung a leg out again, her boot thwacking again and again into the hurt limb as White squirmed on the canvas to get away.
Now clearly feeling pleased with her work, Ariella brushed her long dark hair out of her eyes and decided to u the ante again, sprinting for the far ropes and running back with the aim of landing a low dropkick right to the Stranger’s hurting leg. The first part of this went well, Casta whipping past and taking off at alarming speed. But Astrid had apparently seen her coming and made a last second roll to the side. With nothing to now absorb the high impact, Ariella landed hard on her legs and back and could do little more than wait for the pain and dizziness to subside. And at that moment her opponent pounced.
Burning a little alactic energy of her own, the Stranger spun up into a high kneeling position behind Ariella, locked one arm around her throat from the front, snaked her other hand behind to meet it and reared back hard, pulling the flailing Cuban-American down into her lap and crossing her knees to complete the scissored dragon sleeper she called Fear of the Dark.
FEAR OF THE DARK:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3u_7qDnqNR0
Her heart rate and breathing still recovering from all the adrenaline she’d burned in nearly putting the icy bitch away, Ariella now found the light taken away from her and her neck and back bent in a very awkward angle. Her left side was pressed up tight against Astrid’s chest and she could feel that the damn woman was breathing hard, which combined with the relatively light pressure on the scissors to let her know that she’d at least hurt the new girl pretty bad. But the compression of her throat from the angle was starting to limit her own breathing, and black spots were intruding onto her vision at an alarming rate.
Seated behind the gasping Cuban, Astrid White took steady breaths and let the ringing in her head and throbbing in her knee subside a little. She was aware that Ariella still had a little fight left in her, but also conscious that the last few minutes had hurt her a lot more than she’d be willing to let on. She was about ready to resume her monologue on psychology when she felt sharp fingers digging into the back of her knee. Usually this wouldn’t be nearly enough to break one of her signature chokes, but at this stage the damage inflicted on that joint turned the usually minor annoyance into a sharp burning pain which required action.
Astrid gave a yelp and unlocked her legs to get away from those prying Cuban fingers in her knee. And Ariella clearly expected this, immediately writhing her body until her free legs could worm to the ropes. The Angelino screamed ‘ROPES, REF’ as soon as she felt her feet brush the cables, and the sound of the ref immediately responding ‘Break it, White!’ turned the ringing in her ears into sweet relief. Astrid quickly complied so she could once again massage her throbbing knee, while Casta rolled over in a wet ‘splat’ and grasped at the ropes with both hands, simply enjoying the flooding of air back into her lungs.
After a few seconds the Stranger turned back, recognizing that putting Ariella away was more important than massaging her own knee. The Scandinavian rose to her full, impressive height and leaned down to grab some hair and ensure her opponent did the same. Tummy still heaving, Ariella showed little resistance as she was pulled up but then sprung to life, using almost the last of her resources to break the bitch’s hold on her hair and fling a quick forearm which would have landed square on Icelandic jaw if White hadn’t stepped back slightly and flicked up a toe kick which gutted her. Securing a loose grip around Casta’s neck, Astrid dragged them both two paces back and spoke much louder than she ever had previously, the audience at ringside finally able to hear a bit of what she was saying.
“I recall you earlier said that rope breaks were ‘for pussies’. And yet you used one a few moments ago. Well let me show you what we did to ‘pussies’ back in Japan.” Astrid popped her hips and hauled Casta up to almost vertical, then sat out hard, her tush taking a bit of a bump but not nearly equal to the impact of Ariella’s head slamming into the canvas courtesy of a Snap Brainbuster.
SNAP BRAINBUSTER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=75H9nEvxlP4
Casta spread bonelessly out into a starfish, dark eyes blinking rapidly up at the lights as she tried once again to clear her head. As such she paid very little attention to the mid-Atlantic tones which dropped to a much lower volume again as the stranger continued “I’ll let you into a secret. That may be what people do to pussies in Joshi dojos, but no-one there ever wanted anything to do with me outside of the ring, so I’ve no idea. I hope it sounded convincing. Anyway…”
Ariella begun to pay much more attention again when one long Icelandic arm curled around the back of her neck and yanked her over and up, Astrid spinning to one knee then up to her feet, and carrying the Angelino reluctantly with her. On regaining her feet Casta went straight back to struggling, firing off a woozy fist into White’s ribcage which elicited a grunt, but wasn’t enough to prevent her other wrist being forcibly grabbed and yanked down between her legs.
Ariella could recognise the danger of the predicament but didn’t quite have the wherewithal at this stage of the match to muster a second escape. All she could do was brace as the Stranger again set her hips and hauled her burden up into a fast suplex lift which then exploded over to send the poor girl SMASHing down hard on the back of her neck and shoulders in White’s signature ‘Fear of Heights’.
FEAR OF HEIGHTS:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMLZ0rJsiJo
Astrid sat smoothly up amidst the shallow-breathing wreckage of Ariella Casta, that smile once again spreading across her face. And as if finally noticing the crowd noise, positive and negative, which had been building to a crescendo for the last few minutes she sat up straight, threw her shoulders back and once again raised her hand to her eye, fingers spread so that her iris formed the bar in her sideways ‘A’ signal. The audience response couldn’t quite be described as overwhelming yet but the cameras did manage to pick up a smattering of people copying the symbol.
“You fight well, and you show good strategy in targeting my knee, but you should be so much more.” Astrid worked as she talked, rising slightly and moving to a high seat on the destroyed Cuban’s chest. “And what you are tonight is not enough.” Now White tucked those long legs up, leaning down to lift Ariella’s head up, one shin falling menacingly across tanned throat as the other stem snaked around her splayed arm and behind.
“I hope you can face your fear.”
With that Astrid rolled over to her back and pushed up hard with her hips whilst pulling back with both arms. And suddenly the elegant simplicity of her ‘Whiteout’ finisher became clear.
WHITEOUT:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDLSZE73l0Y
Casta’s eyes bugged as her throat was compressed hard against the silky steel of the Stranger’s shin. But as she flailed and reached for release it became clear that the other leg was compressing her shoulder just as hard at a painful angle whilst rendering the whole limb effectively useless. Ariella had one free hand and she used it to pry desperately at the steel encroaching on her windpipe, but it quickly became clear that Astrid had the choke locked in bone deep.
“You choose which you fear most, Ms Casta. Darkness or pain…”
Ariella’s legs began kicking and scrabbling furiously, but the combination of a poor angle and 139 lbs of Icelandic deadweight hooked around her neck made moving impossible. And so, with darkness encroaching on all sides of her vision, Casta weakly reached out and tapped the nearest available surface, which happened to be the Stranger’s creamy upper thigh, first gently and then with increasing urgency.
Astrid White initially held on to the hold, although it wasn’t clear if this was reveling in victory or just waiting to get absolute confirmation of her triumph. Then, as the bell rang loudly, she released her arms around Ariella’s neck and kicked up, sending the defeated Cuban to SPLAT wetly on the matt. After a few seconds to absorb the victory and hear the announcer call her name, the Stranger rolled over and fixed a grey-green glare on the woman she had beaten. “If you ever feel that you can face your fear, come and find me in Orlando. I should like to spar with you again.”
On the unfortunate end of a match once again, Ariella wasn’t really in the mood to hear any invitations and responded as such, weakly muttering “go fuck yourself you cocky bitch” which Astrid completely ignored. And with the night’s business over and done with, the Stranger rose to her haunches and then to her feet, gave another flash of her ‘A’ sigil, rotating slowly to take in the whole arena, and then stepped gently and not a little gingerly across the ring, through the ropes, and down off the apron. Landing with a muted ‘thump’ she took one last gaze around the audience, bent to collect her jacket which was still pooled on the floor, and then walked briskly back up the ramp, quickly disappearing to leave the audience and the carnage behind her.