The Courage to Strike! (Training Thread)

[dddybee]

Location: The Young Lioness Dorms.

The wrestling match between Courage Takemi and Arachne Spyder had ended in a less than ideal way. Courage had to be taken out on a stretcher, after refusing to tap out to the spider's most dangerous submission move. One meeting between the Battle Bugs later, and things were settled. Honie held Arachne at least partly responsible, due to the spider's chaotic, lack of restraint. So between the trio of bugs, the benevolent, Heroine of the Beehive was most driven to make things right in some way. And since the ant-themed leader of their stable (Antonia) was a Young Lioness trainer, Honie believed the best course of action was to bring Courage to Antonia's place for training!

Dressed in her causal, farmer girl clothes, Honie went down to the Young Lioness dorms, with the intention to pay Courage Takemi a visit. After doing a bit of digging, Honie was able to figure out which room Courage resided in. The heavyweight bombshell hoped Courage wasn't busy. But even if she was, Honie would undoubtedly visit Courage again and again and again until she wasn't! Or just, ask when she wouldn't be busy. Yeah, that was probably the smartest thing to do. Shaking off these 'What if?' thoughts, Honie would knock on Courage's door, eager to get this day started!

Honie in her farmer clothes

[SuckerPunch]

Courage had gotten a stern talking to by her trainers within the Young Lioness program and her peers. Her decision to put her career on the line for pride had not been looked upon fondly. They'd been right, in a way. The results confirmed that. In the end, she'd lost the match. The damage she'd taken from Arachne's submission hold had put her in a state where she couldn't fight back. And it opened her up to take even more damage. She'd been subdued mercifully, but her peers had given her many examples where other contestants had not been so lucky.

"Huh?" The sudden knocks at her door woke her up from her personal pity party. She hadn't been expecting a visitor, but to be honest, she welcomed the interruption. She'd been beating herself up as well. Not for the risks she'd taken... But for not being good enough. Not being complete enough to truly compete. Another loss...

She stood up. "One moment please." She'd always stand up. Losses didn't matter. She told herself this as she slipped a green button-down shirt on. What mattered is that she didn't give up! She pulled on a pair of jeans and latched them. She'd never give up!

"Okay! The door is open, you can come in!" She spoke towards the closed door firmly. Her previous morose subsumed by force of will!

[dddybee]

Honie's Casual Theme

Honie was a little confused that Courage seemed to welcome her in her dorm without knowing who she was. Typically it was best to peek in the door hole, or at least crack the door and look for safety. Thankfully, the person at the door meant Courage no harm, quite the opposite actually!

The farmer girl came in with a friendly smile. "Hey there, Courage! I'm Honie B. Bea: Heroine of the Beehive!" From her pocket, Beatrice pulled out a picture of herself in her wrestling attire. She showed it to Courage, just in case the Young Lioness didn't recognize her in her causal clothes. After putting the picture away, Honie would continue. "I'm also a member of the Battle Bugs: Masters of the Swarm! So is Arachne, who you recently had a match with. Sorry about her messing with you, and how your bout ended. She ought to be more careful, but I promise she's not all that bad. Haha. Anyhow, did you recover okay?" Honie asked, wanting to make sure Courage was good and well, before inviting her for training!

[SuckerPunch]

Courage greeted whoever was visiting her with a great big smile. She wasn't sure who it was, but she'd suspected a friend or mentor. It was rare for the trainees to get visitors from outside of the Young Lioness program. However-

"Honie!?" Courage interrupted in the middle of Honie's introduction. Of course, she knew who she was! She was one of the biggest stars in LAW. And besides, Courage hardly ever missed a card. This was her life after all! There was something valuable to learn in every match that was put on. Even... -Those- types of matches.

Courage hopped forward to accept Honie's hand. She hadn't seen the picture. She just assumed she was going in for a handshake. The photo stuck out the top of their grip, barely even folded.

"Of course! Of course!" She nodded along with her explanation. "There's no need to apologize for her. We had an excellent match. I appreciated that she gave it her all and took me seriously." He reached around to press gently on the small of her back. She resisted a wince. It was still tweaked. But she'd survive. "I'm... I'm okay, thanks. We're in a pretty dangerous sport. Some bumps and bruises'll happen. But there's nothing that can keep me down!" She threw her other hand out in a fist. She certainly came from a showman's background.

"So... Ms. Honie, er... Ms. Bea? How can I help you?"

[dddybee]

"Buzz?" Honie puzzled, the confident yet humble heroine didn't expect for Courage to recognize her right off the gate, while she was wearing her causal clothes. It hadn't fully sunken in yet, but the Heroine of the Beehive was indeed becoming one of LAW's brightest stars! Courage interrupted her introduction and didn't even need to look at Honie's picture, instead opting to shake the big bee's hand.

Despite how heated their match had become, Courage seemed to have let go of any resentment she had towards Arachne, stating their match was excellent and Honie didn't need to apologize for her. And much to Honie's relief, the Young Lioness then insisted she was okay! "Such spirit..." Honie's eyes sparkled, as she admired Courage's resolve. No wonder Antonia was so interested in training her!

"Glad there's no hard feelings. Though regardless, I felt the need to come and help ya out! My stable leader, Antonia, was very impressed by your well...courage. Haha. And resilience during that match, and she'd very much like to teach you a thing or two. She's a Young Lioness Trainer! She's stern and a bit of a know-it-all, but she's also an excellent instructor. I can take you to her now, if you'd be interested!"

[SuckerPunch]

The young idol-turned-wrestler couldn't help but grin at Honie's use of 'buzz' as an emphatic. It seemed almost reflexive. She was living the gimmick!

"No, no. Of course there are no hard feelings!" She doubly reassured the bee before considering the rest of her offer.

"A... Trainer?" She paused to consider it. Courage had been having mixed sucess. But win or lose, every bout was taking a toll on her body. She was pushing herself too hard. Forcing herself to walk through minefields without sweeping.

"O-okay. Maybe she could help." She relented. Courage had always benefitted from the charity of others. She was collaborative and cooperative. So it didn't bother her to accept the help. She was grateful even. But she just wasn't certain what piece was missing from the puzzle.

Courage stepped off to the side and took up a duffelbag by the door. Her gym bag. "My schedule is clear. So I'm ready to go!"

[dddybee]

Background Music

After a moment of consideration, Courage seemed onboard for the training with Antonia that Honie was offering! And much to the bee's delight, the Young Lioness's schedule also happened to be clear. She was ready to go!

"Buzz yeah!" Honie beamed, before walking with Courage out of her dorm room. She led the middleweight to the parking lot, where their chariot awaited! Or more accurately, Honie drove a rural-looking car. Her farmer girl clothes indicated she came from a country background, and her vehicle reflexed so. "My car's a bit old-school." Honie explained. "But I assure you that there's nothing wrong with it. It works perfectly fine, so hop your plump butt in!"

Honie sat on the driver's seat, before patting the shotgun seat, motioning for Courage to get inside. "I come from a rural town in the country, while Antonia comes from a big, urban city. What about yourself? You seem like a suburban girl? Am I right?" The heroine asked, before she started the engine and began to pull out of the parking lot. Courage's training secession awaited!

[SuckerPunch]

Courage followed the enthusiastic Honie down to the parking lot. She was dressed plainly in a pair of jeans that hugged her curves and a green spaghetti strap tank-top. Her gym bag bobbed with her as it hung from her shoulder as she walked. It held her workout clothes, a pair of rubbing shoes, a pair of MMA gloves and a second set of toiletries. Essential for any training session.

"P-plump?" She turned her head to look over her shoulder at her own backside. It was. And it didn't come as a surprise to her. But it had become a struggle for her in the last two years. She'd landed in an industry that not only valued her body type, but sought it. But that wasn't true for her Idol Career. And it was difficult to be confident in her body outside of the ring.

She slid into Honie's car and buckled her seat belt. Safety first! "Suburban. Mm."

She nodded. "Yeah. My mom taught at Hokkaido University in Sapporo. We lived just outside of it. It was a lot more rural than you'd probably think though! The hot springs were to die for!" She melted against the seat as she thought back to it.

"Though I wasn't there very often. I started singing and dancing when I was about ten. So I traveled all over Japan. It was honestly hard to call anywhere home, really."

[dddybee]

"Yes, plump. And that's a good thing!" Honie chuckled, assuring Courage about her backside, after seeing the middleweight's reaction. "All the better to shake around, bump with, and smother with!" Honie was always confident in her body and very aware and in tune with her own thiccness, so she'd do her part to try and help Courage be so as well!

As Courage got inside the vehicle, she confirmed she grew up in a suburban environment but mentioned the rural aspects of it, as well as her travels and Idol Career. "Oh yes, hot springs are buzzing amazing." Honie chirped, melting against her own seat with Courage for a moment. "Singing and dancing? Oh yeah! I think I've heard about your Idol Career! What made ya decided to shift your focus to wrestling?"

The curious bee exited the dorm's parking lot, before going off onto the street. On the way to Antonia's place, the Heroine of the Beehive figured she'd keep trying to know the promising Young Lioness better!

[SuckerPunch]

There was a merriment to Honie that was infectious. She seemed undeterred by any of the lingering smog of bitterness in the world around her. She was practically ... buzzing... with energy.

"You're right." She nodded. "Heather said the same thing." Heather Sunderland had been a woman she'd trained with. A woman who'd helped her understand her more ladcivious impulses and accept them.

Courage looked at the window as Honie inquired about what had led her to wrestling. She had come a long way. And she hadn't expected this road to have led anywhere. "To save my idol career." She smirked wryly and looked towards Honie.

She had been the target of some of the idol industries greatest cruelties. "At 18 I was beginning to age out. My figure had become curvy. My body was too voluptuous to be cute. Or so my producer said." She didn't fit the ideal idol body any longer. She chose to not utter the terrible adjectives that had been used to describe her body.

"My numbers in the popularity polls were plummeting. But I didn't want to lose my friends in Courage Generation. So, as a last ditch, I used the weight of my Mother's fame to join LAW." She looked back out the window then. Her smile tired. "And it worked. I'm back on top." Somehow it sounded full of lament.