The Sun Can Blind (for BlackAkuma)

[Crossedes]

Millicent did want to hear it, and she noted Desdemona's listening and learning ability. She needed little more than those two traits, though calling them obedience and developing usefulness might be more accurate to what she had in mind. Even this latest move showed that Dizzy could become a valuable tool against... wrestlers whose talents fell a notch below Millicent's own and come to some prosperity because of it. Millicent offered a win-win.

The empress' rebound from the ropes created enough force to power her arm out of Desdemona's grip, and she took a reasonable time to check for soreness in her hand. No more than was to be expected for one of the few body parts she could not train to take more punishment. After dismissively whipping her fingers to loosen the tendons, she twisted to Desdemona, whose light feet shook the canvas. Except Desdemona was not coming for the German but aimed past her. Millicent stretched to catch her shoulder, but Dizzy slipped beneath it.

Millicent was familiar with the flipping nonsense lighter wrestlers favored, but she had not expected Dizzy's execution. And she did not think Dizzy would try the same move she had used on her mother. Millicent was stuck playing catcher, and she did catch Desdemona, but only insomuch as her arms closed around the Italian as she doubled over and dropped to the mat beneath Desdemona's weight. She lay there in genuine surprise, her hair in a starburst across the mat, with Dizzy on top of her. And with her chest rising with exertion - Desdemona had forced a working heartbeat out of her.

"Sohn einer hündin... halfway to perfect," she praised, hoarsely, willing to concede the point no matter how much she disliked the indignity of the fall.

[BlackAkuma]

Angela Belti didn’t know what she saw, but she could say she liked it.

At a glance, two wrestlers were having a sparring session in the middle of the practice ring. Nothing was all that uncommon, though it was a rare size mismatch. The larger one, a leggy redhead, was tangled with a petite brunette, with the two having a spirited sprint. The giant woman had things under control and had experience on her side, but the smaller one was making a good go of things—an already impressive effort.

It had taken the better part of ten seconds to realize the small woman dashing around the ring was, in fact, her daughter. She hadn't changed clothes, but she moved more energetically than usual, had great flow with her move, attack with a focus that she wasn’t used to seeing. And the woman she was fighting…

Hm. That was Millicent Kaiser.

She had never had the pleasure of wrestling the woman personally, their stars never aligning, she knew the long-haired redhead by reputation. It was an impressive one, too. Title reigns acclaimed matches, many vouching for her. Seeing her in LAW wasn’t a shock, but seeing her wrestling her daughter was, to say nothing of them, being productive.

She came in just in time to watch the last legs of their spar, just as Dizzy had taken a punch to the face. She stayed behind a heavy bag, as obscured as a woman her size could ever be, and her stealth and patience were rewarded by the sight of Dizzy pulling off some decent maneuvers. Smart moves, good counters, the kind she struggled with whenever they sparred. It was a refreshing sight, and she couldn't help but gasp at the end when Dizzy went flying and scored the same move that she had struggled with earlier.

That was about all she needed to see.

She approached as Dizzy lifted herself off Millicent’s chest, smiling down at her as she prepared for her next move. ”Only half, huh?” She was breathless, sweating, and having the time of her life. ”I guess I’ll just have to work for…Mom!”

She lit up when saw Angela approached and rushed over to the ropes, nearly tripping over Millicent as she hurried. ”Hey, you’re back!” She hopped up on the bottom ropes and leaned out of the ring. ”This is-”

”Millicent Kaiser, I know.” She gave an appreciative nod towards the redhead as she ascended the steps with hands on her hips. ”I’ve heard a lot about you, it’s good to see you in the flesh. My daughter didn’t beg you too hard to train with her, I hope.”

[Crossedes]

Desdemona started to rise, and Millicent thought she might give her a reward - tucking her into a headlock and returning her to her place. A reminder to avoid her becoming too uppity would do her a world of good. But Millicent had momentarily forgotten the scheme, and as she reached to grasp Desdemona before the Italian could rise to her feet, the sudden, jolting exclamation of mom reminded her of that scheme. She sat up, her hands shifting to straighten and tame her hair before she turned to face the elder Belti.

The empress was to her feet by the time Angela spoke her name. So the woman kept up with her European wrestling indeed. Millicent wore a smile and met her at the turnbuckle, glad she had attended to her hair. For a woman who must have been in her forties, Angela had kept her looks. A few unfortunate crow's feet here and there. For shame, really. But Millicent need not distract herself from orchestrating a smooth conversation.

"I could say the same about you." Could. "And whatever her tendency to beg, I was the one who noticed your sparring and realized that she must have been your child. I wanted to see if she was anything like her mother." Her eyes fell on Desdemona, hiding the faintest twinkle. Nothing alike. "I am always fascinated in newcomers, even when they are not the daughter of Angela Belti."

[BlackAkuma]

Dizzy caught that twinkle in Millicent’s eye, and it was a testament to the skills she’d built up through years of daughterly subterfuge that she didn’t burst out laughing. Instead, she kept it cool and went with a small, knowing smile, nothing that would have caused too much suspicion. This was the important part, after all. Angela Belti was many things, but stupid? Never that. She was always a little suspicious of anyone Dizzy took an interest in. Millicent’s pedigree would get a foot in the door, but Dizzy needed a good performance to get it the rest of the way.

She went through the mental checklist: Stand straight, pleasant smile, do your best not to look at Millicent’s breasts even though they’re at eye level. This was just an eager young rookie and a knowledgeable veteran. Nothing amiss.

”She was super-helpful.” Dizzy stepped back and ran a hand over her neck, still trying to get some of the kinks out. ”She started giving me a few pointers, a little advice, demonstrated, and then…”

”I could see.” Her mother nodded and rubbed a thoughtful finger along her chin. ”It seemed like you two were really going at it.”

Dizzy gave her the thumbs up and dropped down to slide out of the ring, looking to retrieve a couple of water bottles from their gym bag. ”Oh, totally.” She kneeled down and started rifling through it, taking her time to give Millie a few added moments alone in the ring. ”I know working with you is good, but it was nice to have a fresh perspective.”

Dizzy glanced over her shoulder, just long enough to see the slight quirk in her mother’s eyebrow, the sign of an idea starting to take form. She could’ve just outright suggested letting Millie tutor her, and her Mom might go with it, no strings. But if she planted the seeds of the idea, let it grow, and her mother picked the fruit? If she connected the dots and came up with the idea herself? Better. Much better.

[Crossedes]

Desdemona said it so Millicent didn't have to. The German trains me better than you, mom, in so many words. The empress' silver tongue picked up on that line of thought. "I have busied myself with new trainees in the German leagues. Watching new talents blossoming and giving them the nudges they need has become a good way to spend my time to break away from monotonous training." Her gaze lingered on Dizzy with that line, laying it on thick, but she also knew when to ease off the line. Give the fish what they sought, entice them, then draw it back.

She leaned casually on the top rope. "But, it is different with the child of someone who already knows her way around the ring. After the career you've had, you two must have lively training sessions." She knew the "inadvertent" lie in her words after her conversation with Dizzy - and she could have even surmised it by the look on the younger Belti's face while sparring with her mother compared to her spar with Millicent. Millie preferred that Angela reach the conclusion that her daughter wanted the fresh perspective she had mentioned.

[BlackAkuma]

A fresh perspective?

Angela ran a hand under her chin, her mind taking a slight detour to her earlier days, when she was first starting out in wrestling. It wasn’t a one-to-one comparison with Dizzy, but there were similarities. Finding her way had been difficult, even with her size and strength. She’d started at twenty-one and had such a rough time of it, with many of her peers being jealous of her strength, resenting that she came from outside the business, trying to hold her back.

For Dizzy, it could be even worse. She had gotten lucky so far, not come across any major roadblocks, but having a nearly two-meter-tall mother around you 95% of the time helped with that. People would talk, the word ‘nepotism’ would get thrown out with every accomplishment she made, and her career would be tied in with Angela’s. She couldn't be around her daughter always, not if she would make this a real thing.

She needed friends. She needed fresh eyes. She needed helping hands. Plural. Not just the ones that had brought her into this world.

Angela folded her arms and let her shoulders sag as her heart made peace with what her brain already knew. ”'Lively'. That’s one word for it.” She tossed her hair back and stood straight, as much to settle her nerves as to project some authority. ”Since you two get along so well, maybe you should make it a regular thing.”

Dizzy slid into the ring and popped up to her feet just in time to give a puzzled look as she handed a water bottle to Millie and popped the cap on her own. ”What? Mamma, sul serio?” She tipped her head to the side and looked between the two women. ”I mean, I’m cool with that, but Millicent just got here, I bet she’s got way better stuff to do than putting me on a leash, you know?”

[Crossedes]

There was her invitation. Millicent didn't need one, but having it made the deal somewhat sweeter. The daughter, she had all confidence would agree to every term of the coming contract. The empress had no doubt secured her first agent. "I would have no issues," she agreed, avoiding needless pretense. A veteran ready and willing to take on mentees was one who would enjoy the admiration of her peers, and she only looked to Desdemona for further confirmation.

The cub laid it on thick. Millicent took the bottle with a nod of thanks and hid her amusement behind a swig. "A leash is a strong term," she said once Dizzy had finished. It was the perfect term, but Angela seemed too shrewd a woman to overlook innuendo. Somewhere, with someone, she had conceived Desdemona. Millicent presumed she had not taken a trophy home and forced him to breed, that she knew the dance of tongues important to sex. "It can be valuable to shadow a wrestler and learn her routine. I am sure mine is different from Angela's, and it may be to your liking. And it is not as if I dragged a sparring partner here from Germany."

Frankly, it was why she was willing to work with others even before the found the benefits of her own following. It was not all that troublesome when the cubs could listen. "I would like to meet and cover a few matters in private with Desdemona since I do have expectations for the wrestlers who work with me, but if my expectation are to her liking..." She trailed off, looking to Dizzy.

[BlackAkuma]

Dizzy called on all her skills to make this work, drawing on a lifelong history of working her mother. It didn’t always work, Angela Belti was no one’s fool, but yeah - parents liked to think the most of their children, and she was no exception. The right suggestion was made at the right time with the right intonation and the right delivery. It all came down to timing, and it seemed like she nailed hers, with Millicent working well alongside her.

…the ‘leash’ thing might have been a little much, though. Freudian slip. It raised her mother’s eyebrow, and there was a second of frazzled suspicion, but Millicent managed to pour cold water on the embers of doubt long before they grew out of control. The woman knew how to handle a situation, and Dizzy was almost giddy to start siphoning off those skills.

She managed to keep it to a reasonable minimum for the time being.

”I’ll do my best.” Dizzy threw a knowing wink from the side of her face her mother couldn't see, then popped out her phone, opened her contact list, and handed it over to Millicent. The German would probably notice the long, long list of female names she had down the list. She hadn't been subtle about her sexual past, so there wasn't much to hide. ”Just throw your number in there, I’ll send you a text, and we can go from there.”

Her mother nodded and brought her legs up, stepping over the top rope to exit the ring, looking to gather their belongings. She honed in on Dizzy as she went, putting on a serious mask to cover her worry. ”That sounds good, but don’t waste this woman’s time, okay? She’s being humble, but she’s doing you a huge favor. Good behavior.” Her face softened as it turned to Millicent. ”If you need any help on my end, by all means…”

[Crossedes]

Angela's attitude appeared to bend into the shape necessary to provide Millicent with what she desired. She continued to gaze at the older woman with a soft, agreeable smile even while she took the phone from Desdemona, forging that respect longtime competitors expected from each other. Only once Angela contentedly stepped back through the ropes did Millicent look down to do as Millicent requested. She paused long enough to note two porn-worthy names appropriately side-by-side in the list before typing in her second number - a second cell phone she used to keep work and private matters separate.

"You will hear from me by the weekend," she told Desdemona as she returned the phone. The words were accompanied by a look that told Dizzy to remember what she had said about preparing herself to work. Let her remain excited, though. Millicent could hone an excitable mentee into far more useful a tool than one awaiting the troubles of expectations.

The soft smile returned to Angela when the woman's attention returned to her. "You will be the first to know," she assured, an easy promise to make since no one needed to be informed if Desdemona caused her problems. Millicent's legs could handle such matters. "You can consider it a favor to me, as well. We all have ways to help each other in this business if we have the right attitudes."

The look she passed Desdemona just before she excused herself emphasized her words, and the empress returned to her workout plans, smiling contentedly to herself. Her first pawn - maybe even a bishop - had been placed on the board.