Cashmere’s Training (feat. Oleander, Velvet and Alena)

[ClockwerkSamurai12]

Velvet is shown holding hand targets that her cousin Cashmere starts to hit with her powerful strikes, all the while Oleander is shown skulking at ringside after what occurred during her fight with Alena.

Oleander: *Thinking* I still don’t understand what happened, I’ve always done what I can to keep him in tact!

[CaptainL]

Everything had happened so quickly, Alena didn't know what to think. One moment, she was heading into the final fall of her best-of-five submission match against the newcomer Oleander, a woman who had proven herself to be easily a worthy opponent for Alena over the course of the match, with the two of them trading victories back and forth and continually raising the stakes higher and higher to force one another to adapt to even greater challenges. They were down to the final fall - the one that would decide everything - and both of them had vowed they wouldn't hold back. But when the bell rang, Alena was completely blindsided by the whirlwind of offense Oleander threw her way, surpassing even the impressive efforts she had seen from her before! Before she knew it, she had ended up trapped up a devastating twister hold, with her body seemingly bending in two different directions at once - and, with her strength already as spent as it was, she had no choice but to concede the victory to Oleander. In a matter of seconds, the round was over before Alena had so much as thrown a single blow.

It was something the likes of which Alena had never seen before, not even from Oleander, who up to this point had given the Grand Duchess a run for her money. Yet, when the dust had cleared, the Englishwoman seemed just as shocked by what she had done as Alena was, taking off in a panic. Many a time, Alena had thought over the events she had witnessed, but she could never quite make sense of them. What had come over Oleander - and why did it seem to impact her the way it had?

In the days that followed, Alena had tried shifting her attention to other things, focusing on her training - nothing could clear her mind quite like her drive to achieve peak performance, after all. That was what had brought her to the gym today. But, as she got up from the weights to take a stroll around on one of her breaks, she noticed something - there, in one of the practice rings, were Cashmere and Velvet Strongfoot, both people that Alena recognized as members of Oleander's entourage. But just nearby - there she was. Oleander herself.

The sight of it caused Alena to freeze. She stood right where she was as a flood of memories came back to her, suddenly hitting her all at once with all the questions and uncertainties she was left with from that night. But...perhaps she could get answers now. Maybe things had calmed down now that the two of them were on neutral ground, and there wasn't a match to win. She didn't know how Oleander would react - really, how could she? - but if anything was worth a try, perhaps this was it.

Clearing her throat, Alena began to step up to Oleander, though she kept a safe distance and moved slowly and quietly, not wanting to alarm her with her presence. When she felt the coast was clear, she spoke up - hoping that Oleander wouldn't panic over it.

"Are...you okay?"

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[ClockwerkSamurai12]

Oleander: Oh, my apologies Alena.. I didn’t see you there! Look, about last night-

Velvet and Cashmere halt their training as they notice the Grand Duchess talking to Oleander.

Velvet: So I take it zat is ze Grand Duchess you told me about cousin?

Cashmere: You vould be correct, a multi-million dollar oil oligarch who does not know ze meaning of ze word “fear”!

Velvet: Interesting..

[CaptainL]

With Cashmere introducing her, Alena chuckled a little to herself, rubbing the back of her head. "Oh, really, you don't need to lead with that! I might come from wealth, but I don't want that to be what I'm remembered for. What really matters are my efforts. And I'm out to prove myself as one of the top martial artists in the world!" She balled a fist and pounded it against her palm with a grin. "If you ask me, I like to think I've done a good enough job of that so far!"

But at the back of her mind, Alena couldn't deny that there was still something off here, no matter how much she celebrated her well-deserved reputation. She still hadn't gotten any answers from Oleander on what had happened, and why her mood had changed so dramatically so fast. She was always happy to be recognized, of course, but she didn't want it to get in the way of what she was really here for. And she could tell that Oleander had matters she wanted to talk about.

Looking back at the two Strongfoots over her shoulder, Alena then turned her attention back to Oleander. Hopefully, they wouldn't make things awkward. "Are they going to be an issue? We can go elsewhere, if you'd rather do things privately..."

[ClockwerkSamurai12]

Oleander: I’m.. I’m fine, really.

Velvet: Hm.. since you are here Ms. Stepanova, why don’t you help out for Cashmere’s upcoming bout against Danielle?? Not sure if you heard about her, after all.. my glorious debut against her vas one that the Strongfoot clan vill tell tales about for generations!!

[CaptainL]

Alena raised an eyebrow curiously, but even as Oleander insisted she was fine...she wasn't quite sure. After everything that had happened, and how panicked she'd seemed, surely she couldn't just forget about things that easily. Oleander had won Alena's respect through the hard work and dedication she had put into that match, and now that she could consider the Englishwoman a comrade in arms as a fellow martial artist, she wanted to be there to stand up for her. If there was something she could do...she wanted to do it.

But it seemed like that would have to wait. Velvet called out to her, and Alena turned to face her. She huffed a little under her breath. Her bombastic response was enough to tell her that she and Oleander didn't have much in common, and with that in mind, it felt as though Velvet was talking over Oleander, dominating the conversation through her greater presence. Was Oleander just saying she was fine so as not to get in Velvet's way? If that was the case, clearly this was no time for Alena to try to get through to Oleander. She'd have to wait until Velvet wasn't in the picture to butt in...and until then, she had a job to do.

At the mention of Danielle's name, Alena scoffed. "Danielle? Danielle Degardin?" She did, in fact, know of the Frenchwoman's match against Velvet - one that had ended up backfiring catastrophically for her when Velvet subjected her to all the hard-hitting, bone-breaking moves in her arsenal and left her begging for mercy. People like Danielle, who thought they could coast by on their looks and their wealth alone, were exactly why Alena wasn't one to brag about her status as an heiress. She wasn't afraid to brag, of course, but that was about her talent! "I don't know how much you're going to need to have to train to take her down!" She chuckled at her own joke - but then, she slipped into the ring, then stood a little taller, cracking her knuckles.

"But...if you want someone to help train your cousin, there, you've come to the right place. You know much about submissions, Cashmere? If not...I can certainly help with that!

[ClockwerkSamurai12]

Cashmere: Fantastik! I figure you could help me improve my grappling skills, given how I’m more of a striker..

Velvet: Vare as I enjoy bending my opposition until zhey break..

[CaptainL]

Alena looked back at Velvet over her shoulder as she stepped closer, and a smirk came to her face. "Oh, really - until they break, you say? Well, that sounds like my kind of challenge, if you're looking for a match yourself," the Russian grappler chuckled. Velvet clearly had a lot of pride in her skills, and from what Alena had seen of her matches, she certainly had the talent to back it up. A match between the two of them would surely put Alena's command of submissions to the test, and really make her work for her victory - but then, that seemed like just the sort of thrill worth chasing after!

However, that thought could wait. Right now, it was Cashmere that Alena had to focus on. Dusting off her hands, Alena settled into a stance in front of her new sparring partner. "If you want to learn a thing or two about grappling, I'd dare say you've come to the right place," she said with a grin. "But I want to see what you're capable of now, so I can get an idea of what I'm working with!" She put her hands on Cashmere's shoulders, going to enter a clinch. "Let's have ourselves a grappling match. I want you to see what you can do to me without using any strikes. I'll do the same, of course! Let's see what you know, and what I can teach you." She nodded her head, waiting for Cashmere to throw the first blow.

[ClockwerkSamurai12]

Cashmere nods before entering a pseudo-grappling stance, coming at Alena with her Dressed to Kill finishing move.

Cashmere: Keep in mind, this is the only type of grappling move I know..

Velvet: *Thinking* Hm, Alena sure seems interested in facing me in a fight.. maybe one day we can see how many submissions we could get in a set amount of time.

[CaptainL]

Alena's eyes narrowed on Cashmere, and she followed her lead, sinking into a stance to match her own. The two soon joined in a clinch, but Cashmere would be quick to try and press the advantage - and Alena was curious to see what she could come up with. When she pulled Alena's head downward, wrapping her arm around her throat to hold in a guillotine choke, it caused the Russian to hiss, her teeth clenching against the strain. However, as tight as Cashmere could lock on, it was no predicament Alena hadn't been in before. As a veteran of the octagon, she knew plenty of counters and escapes against this move - and she would make sure that Cashmere knew them before this day was up, too!

"Nngh...hah! Is that the best...you can do?" Many wrestlers would strain against the pressure of such a choke, but Alena already had a plan, and a smirk came to her face as she thought of it. She wasn't perturbed at all! She would lean down with all her weight, trying to bend herself lower to the ground; as she did, she pushed her foot against the canvas to brace herself, then placed her palm flat against the mat when she was bent over parallel to it. If that worked, she'd push up hard on both her arm and leg, trying to flip herself over into the air! If she could push Cashmere down under her weight, she'd attempt to take her to her back, where she would throw one arm around the side of her neck and shoulder before joining her hands behind Cashmere's back to apply a Von Flue choke.

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