Post by walkindude on May 6, 2018 18:54:56 GMT
The FAWN Arena, Talent Workout Room Three, one week ago…
AUTUMN SAMMAIN:
Autumn Sammain was more than two hours into her routine when she realized she was being watched. This in and of itself was no surprise, the brunette could say with no false modesty that she had one of the most demanding fitness regiments in all of FAWN and she’d come to expect onlookers ever since that video of her splitting the heavy bag went viral a couple years back. Still, most only stayed for a few minutes, or they’d announce themselves to get her attention sooner rather than later. Whoever watched tonight had done so for at least twenty minutes without saying so much as a word. Of course she simply could’ve looked toward the door of the training room, but Autumn was loathe to let anything break her concentration and something about the weight of that gaze told her some game was afoot. So she continued her workout as normal, putting the heavy bag through its torturous paces until a beep from her phone proclaimed it was time to call it quits. Finishing up with an emphatic Forearm Smash, Sammain turned to her bag, purposely not looking at the open door in the process. She’d just wiped her face with a towel when the room was filled with not one, but two sets of sardonic applause.
LUCY HARKER:
MINA MURRAY:
“I must say, that is IMPRESSIVE.” Autumn finally turned her attention to the unwanted audience and almost frowned upon discovering Lucy Harker and Mina Murray lounging in the doorway. Seeing as she had the brunette’s attention, Lucy stopped clapping and stepped into the long, narrow room. “That was what, three hours? And something tells me you could do another three after some proper hydration.” Harker glanced back to Murray, who still waited in the door. “Almost as intense as your workouts, wouldn’t you agree, Mina dear?”
The other half of Scandalous nodded. “I would.”
Under other circumstances Autumn would’ve indulged the manipulative duo’s notorious mind games, but it was late, she was tired and all she wanted was a shower before falling asleep in front of more Dufresne tape. “I know you’re not hanging around at one thirty in the morning for cardio tips, Harker.” she said bluntly. “So why don’t you tell me what you want, I can say no, and we can all get on with our nights.”
Lucy frowned, though it didn’t reach her eyes. “Would you really turn down a career changing offer, my sweet little dragon?”
“What could you possibly offer me?”
“Back-up.” Mina pushed away from the door, walked over to the first heavy bag and set it swaying with a high Kneelift. Turning her attention back to Sammain, Murray went on. “You’re a murder machine, Sammain. You kill it in the gym and you kill it in the ring. Hell, you wore out Veronica Treymane and submitted her in front of the whole world. Did the same to Sue Burlingame and I’ve lost track of how many others. That’s…”
“Impressive.” Lucy finished for her. “Yet for all your accomplishments, where are the titles? Where are the accolades? I’ll tell you, they’re going to women with half your talent and dedication. Do you know why, Sammain?”
“I’m sure you’re dying to tell me.” Autumn replied blandly.
“It’s because you don’t have any friends. No one to watch your back. Think about it, Autumn. Championship matches in this place are hard to come by. How many have you earned? How many did you actually lose clean? Everyone knows you had Treymane on the ropes when she had the big belt, yet she still walked out of there with the gold because what happened?”
Sammain clenched her teeth, the end of that match still ate at her more than a year later. “You know what happened.”
Harker tilted her head to one side. “Sometimes it helps to say it out loud.”
“Jenny Jacobs screwed you.” Mina noted when Autumn did not. “She was supposed to be your friend and she still drove a chair into your gut when the World Title was within your grasp.”
Autumn swallowed a lump in her throat. “What’s your point?”
Lucy beamed. “We’re looking to expand our brand! Make this duo a trio, not to put too fine a point on it. Now I’ll admit, this whole ‘silent, joyless, ass-kicker’ persona you’ve cultivated is a little… off message, for Mina and I, BUT your results within the ropes speak for themselves.”
“Join up with us.” Mina chimed in. “And we’ll make sure there are always two sets of eyes watching your back.”
“What do you get out of all of this?”
“Our own set of back-up. With our tag team expertise… and a little of your Green Mist, we could own that division in a way The Three could only dream of.”
Autumn thought it over for perhaps ten seconds. “You make a valid point. Perhaps my isolation has cost me a title or two during my time in FAWN. But when I do win singles gold, and believe me, I WILL, there won’t be an asterisk next to that victory in the record book. And I certainly won’t be party to helping you two to titles you didn’t earn. So thank you, but no.”
All trace of humor vanished from Lucy’s face. “This offer wasn’t formulated or made lightly, Sammain. Regardless of what you think of our tactics, not even you can deny that Mina and I are loyal to a fault. Now we are offering you the benefits of that loyalty, I strongly urge you to reconsider.”
“And if I don’t, you’ll what? Take me out two on one? You’re more than welcome to try.”
“There’s no ‘try’ about it.” Mina growled. “Good as you are, you can’t hang with us by yourself. We could leave you in a crater for the morning janitor if we wanted to.”
“But where’s the sport in that?” Lucy chided. “We are, after all, a tag team, and we delight in humiliating other tag teams. You Autumn, are a singles specialist, one who’d be hard-pressed to muster a single friend to take up arms against us. So no, we WON’T beat your narrow ass into a stupor for turning us down. However, the next time you find yourself on the bad end of the numbers game and it’ll happen sooner than you think, remember this moment. Remember you turned down the loyalty of two women who have never betrayed one another. Of course, if you DO manage to find someone who will stand alongside you, Mina and I would be more than happy to embarrass you both in the center of that ring on any given night of the week, isn’t that right, Mina dear?”
“It most certainly is.” Murray purred.
Favoring the Dragon with one more disappointed smirk, Lucy Harker wheeled around and disappeared out into the hall.
Mina followed a few steps behind, slowed down when she reached the door. “You could have been part of something special. Instead you’re going to play gatekeeper for every slice of new meat that comes through the front office. Stupid choice, dragon breath.”
“Why don’t you step to me when Harker isn’t lurking in the shadows?” Sammain challenged. “Oh wait, that would be a stupid choice, wouldn’t it?”
Mina’s eyes narrowed. “I’ll wait ‘til you’re fresh. Then we’ll see how long you last against a target that actually hits back.”
Autumn stepped to the center of the room, spread her arms wide. “I’m right here, Murray. Take your best shot.”
“Soon. Maybe you’ll even see it coming, if you’re lucky.” Sammain beckoned her forward one more time, but the Scandalous blonde only gifted her with a taunting wave before following Lucy down the hall.
Alone again, the Gaijin Extraordinaire stayed rooted to the spot for almost ten minutes, just listening to make sure Scandalous was actually gone. Once she was satisfied, Sammain packed up and headed out into the night. “I’ve got an indy darling to deal with at Spring Break.” she murmured to the empty arena. “But once she’s been given the proper welcome? You girls will have my undivided attention.”
AUTUMN SAMMAIN:
Autumn Sammain was more than two hours into her routine when she realized she was being watched. This in and of itself was no surprise, the brunette could say with no false modesty that she had one of the most demanding fitness regiments in all of FAWN and she’d come to expect onlookers ever since that video of her splitting the heavy bag went viral a couple years back. Still, most only stayed for a few minutes, or they’d announce themselves to get her attention sooner rather than later. Whoever watched tonight had done so for at least twenty minutes without saying so much as a word. Of course she simply could’ve looked toward the door of the training room, but Autumn was loathe to let anything break her concentration and something about the weight of that gaze told her some game was afoot. So she continued her workout as normal, putting the heavy bag through its torturous paces until a beep from her phone proclaimed it was time to call it quits. Finishing up with an emphatic Forearm Smash, Sammain turned to her bag, purposely not looking at the open door in the process. She’d just wiped her face with a towel when the room was filled with not one, but two sets of sardonic applause.
LUCY HARKER:
MINA MURRAY:
“I must say, that is IMPRESSIVE.” Autumn finally turned her attention to the unwanted audience and almost frowned upon discovering Lucy Harker and Mina Murray lounging in the doorway. Seeing as she had the brunette’s attention, Lucy stopped clapping and stepped into the long, narrow room. “That was what, three hours? And something tells me you could do another three after some proper hydration.” Harker glanced back to Murray, who still waited in the door. “Almost as intense as your workouts, wouldn’t you agree, Mina dear?”
The other half of Scandalous nodded. “I would.”
Under other circumstances Autumn would’ve indulged the manipulative duo’s notorious mind games, but it was late, she was tired and all she wanted was a shower before falling asleep in front of more Dufresne tape. “I know you’re not hanging around at one thirty in the morning for cardio tips, Harker.” she said bluntly. “So why don’t you tell me what you want, I can say no, and we can all get on with our nights.”
Lucy frowned, though it didn’t reach her eyes. “Would you really turn down a career changing offer, my sweet little dragon?”
“What could you possibly offer me?”
“Back-up.” Mina pushed away from the door, walked over to the first heavy bag and set it swaying with a high Kneelift. Turning her attention back to Sammain, Murray went on. “You’re a murder machine, Sammain. You kill it in the gym and you kill it in the ring. Hell, you wore out Veronica Treymane and submitted her in front of the whole world. Did the same to Sue Burlingame and I’ve lost track of how many others. That’s…”
“Impressive.” Lucy finished for her. “Yet for all your accomplishments, where are the titles? Where are the accolades? I’ll tell you, they’re going to women with half your talent and dedication. Do you know why, Sammain?”
“I’m sure you’re dying to tell me.” Autumn replied blandly.
“It’s because you don’t have any friends. No one to watch your back. Think about it, Autumn. Championship matches in this place are hard to come by. How many have you earned? How many did you actually lose clean? Everyone knows you had Treymane on the ropes when she had the big belt, yet she still walked out of there with the gold because what happened?”
Sammain clenched her teeth, the end of that match still ate at her more than a year later. “You know what happened.”
Harker tilted her head to one side. “Sometimes it helps to say it out loud.”
“Jenny Jacobs screwed you.” Mina noted when Autumn did not. “She was supposed to be your friend and she still drove a chair into your gut when the World Title was within your grasp.”
Autumn swallowed a lump in her throat. “What’s your point?”
Lucy beamed. “We’re looking to expand our brand! Make this duo a trio, not to put too fine a point on it. Now I’ll admit, this whole ‘silent, joyless, ass-kicker’ persona you’ve cultivated is a little… off message, for Mina and I, BUT your results within the ropes speak for themselves.”
“Join up with us.” Mina chimed in. “And we’ll make sure there are always two sets of eyes watching your back.”
“What do you get out of all of this?”
“Our own set of back-up. With our tag team expertise… and a little of your Green Mist, we could own that division in a way The Three could only dream of.”
Autumn thought it over for perhaps ten seconds. “You make a valid point. Perhaps my isolation has cost me a title or two during my time in FAWN. But when I do win singles gold, and believe me, I WILL, there won’t be an asterisk next to that victory in the record book. And I certainly won’t be party to helping you two to titles you didn’t earn. So thank you, but no.”
All trace of humor vanished from Lucy’s face. “This offer wasn’t formulated or made lightly, Sammain. Regardless of what you think of our tactics, not even you can deny that Mina and I are loyal to a fault. Now we are offering you the benefits of that loyalty, I strongly urge you to reconsider.”
“And if I don’t, you’ll what? Take me out two on one? You’re more than welcome to try.”
“There’s no ‘try’ about it.” Mina growled. “Good as you are, you can’t hang with us by yourself. We could leave you in a crater for the morning janitor if we wanted to.”
“But where’s the sport in that?” Lucy chided. “We are, after all, a tag team, and we delight in humiliating other tag teams. You Autumn, are a singles specialist, one who’d be hard-pressed to muster a single friend to take up arms against us. So no, we WON’T beat your narrow ass into a stupor for turning us down. However, the next time you find yourself on the bad end of the numbers game and it’ll happen sooner than you think, remember this moment. Remember you turned down the loyalty of two women who have never betrayed one another. Of course, if you DO manage to find someone who will stand alongside you, Mina and I would be more than happy to embarrass you both in the center of that ring on any given night of the week, isn’t that right, Mina dear?”
“It most certainly is.” Murray purred.
Favoring the Dragon with one more disappointed smirk, Lucy Harker wheeled around and disappeared out into the hall.
Mina followed a few steps behind, slowed down when she reached the door. “You could have been part of something special. Instead you’re going to play gatekeeper for every slice of new meat that comes through the front office. Stupid choice, dragon breath.”
“Why don’t you step to me when Harker isn’t lurking in the shadows?” Sammain challenged. “Oh wait, that would be a stupid choice, wouldn’t it?”
Mina’s eyes narrowed. “I’ll wait ‘til you’re fresh. Then we’ll see how long you last against a target that actually hits back.”
Autumn stepped to the center of the room, spread her arms wide. “I’m right here, Murray. Take your best shot.”
“Soon. Maybe you’ll even see it coming, if you’re lucky.” Sammain beckoned her forward one more time, but the Scandalous blonde only gifted her with a taunting wave before following Lucy down the hall.
Alone again, the Gaijin Extraordinaire stayed rooted to the spot for almost ten minutes, just listening to make sure Scandalous was actually gone. Once she was satisfied, Sammain packed up and headed out into the night. “I’ve got an indy darling to deal with at Spring Break.” she murmured to the empty arena. “But once she’s been given the proper welcome? You girls will have my undivided attention.”