Backstage Reconnaissance

[ThatPolishDude]

Hoshiko was carrying Cassandra backstage towards the locker rooms, or better said, she was stumbling her way with the girl in her arms while her body was screaming for her to just sit down for a goddamn second and stop hulling additional weight around. For as much as her body screamed at her, Hoshiko's reaction was just to internally tell it to suck it up and that it was its own damn fault for keeping her awake thus far. Now she just wanted to get to the locker room and sit.

On her way she suddenly realized something. Kate would for absolutely certain be in the locker room she was heading to right now, she would have been there if only to just finally have a chance to talk to Cass and with both of them in such a state, she would definitely be worried as well. There was a problem there though, as much as she understood How Kate felt and did want her and Casandra to talk things through properly, having Cass be forced into that situation was not ideal, if she was ready to face Kate, she would have done so already.

With that sudden realization, Hoshiko cursed in a few different languages back to back, some of which included self-directed insults from her frustration at wanting to do right by the girl she was carrying right now despite how hellishly inconvenient it was. She turned and walked to a different part of the building, there were a few nooks and crannies where they could hide back in for a bit and they were so rarely used that the probability of running into anyone there was almost none.

When they finally arrived at one of the secluded rooms, without even trying to take a look at what kind of room it was after getting in, Hoshko would lock the door with her foot and immediately drop to her butt, resting her back against the door as she laid Cassandra's head on her lap, slowly stroking the girl's hair as she waited for her to wake up.

[Aeri]

Cass wasn’t heavy by all means. But to Hoshiko, who wasn’t all that much bigger than her, and after all the damage Cass had done to her, Hoshi had been well within her rights to just.. let her leave on a stretcher.

But she didn’t. Carrying Cass through the dark areas of backstage, she finally took her to an.. empty room. Was nice and peaceful, a resting area.

And the collapsed, with Cass in her lap. As for Cass’s part.. oh yeah. She was out of it. For a good five minutes, Hoshiko could have played with her hair. Soft, glittery, it shined like nebulae.. but also, flecked with both of their blood.

After a while, Cass’s eyes fluttered open. She didn’t know where she was and her first instinct was to panic. But.. that was overridden by the PAIN she was in. Her body ached, and she’d wake up with a start, shuddering just a little bit. Her arm immediately went to her twisted free arm which.. was twisted a bit funny. Not broken but SOMETHING was wrong about the angle. She’d rub her shoulder joint, realising she had pulled a few muscles.

.. and in her inspection of herself, she realised that she was in Hoshiko’s lap. With her playing with her hair. A wave of feelings swamped her, and Cass..

.. Cass was a little shocked at the fact that she was here and not alone in a cold hospital bed. She’d grunt in a raspy voice, her eyes going up to look at Hoshiko questioningly..

“.. why.. am.. I..? In your.. l-lap..?”

[ThatPolishDude]

Hoshiko was hard pressed to not just fall asleep where she was sitting, in fact, she almost dozed off a few times, though her position was far from comfortable, something was soothing about petting Cassandra's hair that allowed her to relax, if only for a moment. Her struggle against sleep would be interrupted after a little while when the other woman woke up and asked about her predicament.

"Are you complaining?" She asked, pouting though in all honesty she was just putting on an act. "Maybe I should have taken you to the locker rooms instead, Kate could give you a real earful then!" She said, now poking out her tongue to make clear she saved the other girl from such fate.

[Aeri]

Cass was a lot more serious than Hoshi about it. She knew she wasn’t holding back in her match, and she knew something was most definitely broken. With her and with Hoshi, and she was anxious that they needed medical treatment.

“N-no, your legs a-are.. very good.”

She’d stammer out a response. Good was one way to put it. Her cheeks rested against the powerful weapons of mass destruction, her finger just barely circling Hoshi’s thighs that had just a few minutes ago been breaking her head in. Cassandra looked up at her blankly..

Kate? She wasn’t thinking about Kate, but now she realised.. and giggled a little.

“.. she may kick your ass for hiding me away.”

Cassandra sighed. Her was was bloody, tear tracks leaving a stain down her cheeks. She’d take a shaky breath, before looking to the side, a little disappointed. She had fought like hell but.. she couldn’t win. She gave up, even. Against a girl shorter and younger than her- she couldn’t even justify that her size had been a disadvantage. Cassandra bit her lip, but.. she could sulk later.

With a bit of a hesitant smile, she’d look up at Hoshiko.

“Even if you’re my junior.. y-you’re.. really good. That lock.. hurt.. like h-hell.

I’m impressed. I-I..”

She seemed to be struggling with her words, and what to say.. but.. she’d just stop. Her mouth felt weird. She’d touch her tooth and find out she now had a bit of a chipped tooth, making her look.. cute. Tomboyish.

“.. I think I need to up my mma game, huh? Always thought I was pretty good at it, but I suppose I’m not as experienced in it as you are..”

[ThatPolishDude]

"Oh, she would kick my butt for it, if I was in a better shape. She'll tell me she'll do it when I get better but forgive me before then. Not the first time" Hoshi replied jokingly before letting Cass speak.

It seemed there was a lot more on her mind than she was letting on, Hoshi wondered if she was dodging the subject on her mind or if she was not sure of it herself. Talking though had a way of making such things clearer in one's mind and she enjoyed the woman's company. "Thanks, though, you don't give yourself enough credit here."

She'd let the words hang in the air long enough for them to be a little irritating in the fact of not having a follow-up before she delivered on that "I think you'd have won if you didn't get too cocky if I'm being honest. This might have been my debut here but I fought a lot of people, I don't think I ever thought someone as impressive as you, well, at least as comparative size goes. Though... yeah, your MMA needs some polish, I'd kick your butt if those were the rules."

[Aeri]

“.. so what I’m hearing, you should be thanking me from saving you from Kate.”

She’d giggle a little, albeit weakly. It was nice, Cassie thought, to be sitting like this with Hoshiko. It made for a nice change of pace, and she didn’t usually get to spend backstage with her opponents..

Well, she had for two of them. She’d splay her palms, before rolling to the side a little and pressing them against Hoshiko’s abs accidentally. They’d linger, and she’d gulp a little.. before catching her eye and pulling them away like they were hot iron. She couldn’t deny she liked the feel, but Cass softly took in a deep breath.

“.. bleh.

How can you chatter.. this much. My head feels like it was cracked open.”

She was a victim of a pounding headache, but.. she’d look up at her, cheeks lightly puffed up in a pout/annoyance, a bit of both. Her fingers clenched around her head, covering her ears to block out the drumming she was feeling in her dome.

“Would not.. but thanks. For what it’s worth.. you have really nice.. arms to be choked by.”