Mother-Daughter Bonding (for Wanderer)

[CaptainL]

Big changes could really shake up someone's life. Big changes like becoming a parent. Astrid Ostberg was certainly feeling that - and when she met her stepdaughter for the first time when she was twenty years old, had gone without a supportive mother figure for pretty much all her life, and wasn't guaranteed to respond positively to the news, all her anxieties were amplified tenfold. Astrid had no way to know if Sarabeth was going to welcome her into her life, or shut the door in her face before she so much as had time to say a single word. She knew she was a stranger to Sarabeth, and when her own mother had disowned her and refused to give her the help she needed, she wouldn't have been surprised if the girl was wary about letting anyone new into her world. Fortunately, everything had gone swimmingly. Sarabeth was overjoyed by the thought of being reunited with her biological father, and she was even happier to know that, together with Astrid, she could finally have a family. She'd barely even known Astrid for more than a day, and she had already started calling her Mom.

If anything, Astrid was the one who needed time to adjust. Suddenly, she had a daughter, long before she had ever prepared to become a parent, and she was thrust into stepping in to fill a void in the life of a young adult who was still lost trying to find her place in the world. Astrid could only hope that she would be able to provide Sarabeth with the sort of support and attention she needed. But Astrid hadn't even known that Sarabeth existed for most of her life, and she barely knew who she was as a person. What did she like? What were her hopes and dreams, and how was she going to work toward them? How could she expect to be a mother to her daughter when her daughter was a stranger?

Either way, now was the time for Astrid to do something about that. She might not have been quite ready to take her place as Sarabeth's mother, but she knew Sarabeth deserved the effort. And when she was going to put her all into everything she did in the ring, she was going to commit to this too.

She'd scheduled a dinner date tonight - something nice and easy, where she and Sarabeth could relax after their hectic lives and enjoy each others' company, and get to know each other more in the process. As someone who had been involved in the Young Lioness Program as a trainer many a time, she already knew when she could expect the trainees to finish their routines. Now, she was pulling up to the Young Lioness dormitories in her car, parking it outside as she waited for Sarabeth to arrive.

Spoiler

[Pegasus]

Sarabeth Chummers-Ashworth

Sarabeth was not one to normally just dress up as she only did that for church back when she was a kid or for her formal elementary school dances her biological mother made her go to. However, she knew when to put in the effort to look good. Especially considering who was taking her to dinner tonight. It’s true that Sarabeth was quite shocked to know her father was right here in Japan working closely with League of Anime Wrestling and even more shocking that Astrid was now her new mother. She couldn’t complain as Astrid had proven already to treat Sarabeth with more respect than Kary could ever afford. Sarabeth figured it was worth putting on nice clothes after her nice refreshing hot shower when her class with Tina Kelley was over.

Sarabeth came out with her backpack nearly tripping over herself as she got out of the LAW gym. Sarabeth came down the stairs and ran for her stepmother’s car opening the door to the passenger seat. She huffed and puffed for breath putting her backpack in the back seat before sitting up in her seat. Sarabeth looked at her mother with a bright smile and blushed a little bit.

“Sorry about the wait. Tina had us do 40 pushups and I fell behind plus the shower look half an hour to get into since Sheila was hogging the hot water,” Sarabeth apologized.

[CaptainL]

When Sarabeth ran out of the LAW dorms, Astrid sat up a little straighter in her seat, and the smile on her face grew a little wider. To see her stepdaughter so happy, so excited to spend a night out with her - enough that she was willing to get dressed up for it - it warmed Astrid's heart. She barely even knew this girl. She'd existed for a little over half of her life, and Astrid had known of her for only a couple of months. But already she could feel herself lighting up with joy to see her, as any parent would of their child. In fact, that thought itself was enough to give Astrid pause. Was it really happening this fast? Was she accepting her as part of the family so quickly? Whatever the case was...if it meant that the Norsewoman was settling into her role as Sarabeth's mother, she wouldn't fight it. She knew the girl deserved it - she would be whatever she needed.

"No need to apologize! You look great, by the way!" Astrid nodded her head to Sarabeth as she got into the car - then, as she brought up Sheila's hogging of the hot water, she chuckled to herself. "She's still doing that, huh?" Astrid had heard plenty of stories about Sheila's antics from the other Young Lionesses, and knowing Sheila as much as she did, she didn't doubt them for a moment. The Australian girl was no doubt spirited, and committed to her training...but Astrid knew as any that she could be a handful.

Putting her gears into the car, Astrid started the engine and began to pull out onto the road. "So, are you hungry? We have time to do a little driving around...but we don't want to wait too long. I know tables can go fast."

[Pegasus]

Sarabeth breathed in a deep breath as Astrid turned the car out of her parking space and onto the road. She couldn’t believe this was really happening. Getting to spend time with her stepmother and it was a whole unreal experience. She spent plenty of times with her actual mother and it was normal for her then when she was younger, but now, she has a new mother in Astrid to get to know and it was really nerve wracking to be honest. She didn’t even know Astrid that well, but Sarabeth reminded herself that this would be her first real chance to make up for lost time. When Astrid asked if she was hungry, Sarabeth had to think of a good place to eat.

“Why not a trip to the Hard Rock Cafe? Dad and his buddies visited it all the time on their trips around the world and he recommended it to me. He can be so simple, but that’s the best thing about him,” Sarabeth suggested.

[CaptainL]

At Sarabeth's description, Astrid burst into laughter. She'd known William longer than Sarabeth had, and she certainly knew what she was talking about. William wasn't exactly what anyone would call a thinking man, and he was the type to act before he thought things through - which, more often than not, was enough to land him in trouble. But Astrid didn't care. He had a good heart, and she loved him nonetheless. When she laughed, it was because she understood - but there wasn't a hint of malicious intent in it.

"I don't think I could've said it better myself," the Norsewoman said as she pulled onto the road. "You two must be hitting it off well. You haven't known him as long as I have, but you're catching on fast. Not that that's all that hard, with him. Ah, I kid, I kid..." With another chuckle, Astrid looked back at the road.

"Hard Rock Cafe sounds fine to me. I can't say I've been to any here in Japan, but I'm definitely willing to give it a try. Anyway, how was class today? What've you been learning?" It felt a little weird to be making small talk with Sarabeth, like she really was her daughter, and she was picking her up from school. It was as though they'd been doing this routine for years, and yet a year ago Astrid didn't even know Sarabeth existed. But then, Sarabeth was her daughter, wasn't she? It was only natural. It was only right.

[Pegasus]

Sarabeth chuckled and laughed along with her mother as they had to giggle had Will’s simple-minded approach to things. She learned very quickly that her father wasn’t the brightest bulb in the drawer, but the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. Sarabeth herself didn’t have the best judgement with things and she could have her stupidity showed on display even in her matches since she relied a lot on showmanship. However, she now had Astrid to help keep her on the straight and narrow.

“It was good. Tina had us runs laps around the gym and even had us practice basic Bodyslams. I think I’m getting good at them, but I got training from Alania so I’m ahead of the curve. Next week, we’re learning strength combined with submissions so that’s where I’m gonna create some new moves. I’m also glad I had my own gear before I came to Japan. Meiyun and Sheila tell me the basic outfits are too tight!” Sarabeth replied.

[CaptainL]

Indeed, after knowing Sarabeth for a little while, Astrid could say with confidence that she was, without a doubt, William's daughter. She had inherited her father's foolhardiness and his stubbornness, and that had come across in all the matches that saw her getting carried away with her showboating and leaving herself in danger. But even when Sarabeth made glaring mistakes and oversights in the classes Astrid was teaching, the Norsewoman couldn't let it get to her...well, maybe a little, but still. It was endearing in its own way. It reminded Astrid all the more of her husband. And with a little guidance in the right direction, Sarabeth could overcome it. She was still learning, after all - and now that she had Astrid to set her straight, she could only live her potential to the fullest.

"You know," Astrid said, "I've heard some dissent among the trainers if was right to let you on when you'd already started your trained. Akira says that the point of programs like this is to introduce you to wrestling at the right pace, and to make sure you've earned the right to move onto bigger things before they teach them to you. She's worried that you're already ahead of some of your classmates, and that it'll throw everything off - and that you'll get too cocky with the knowledge you already have. Me, I say, you shouldn't be afraid to take things at your own pace. What works for you works for you, and I don't want you to feel like you have to be shoved into a box you aren't comfortable with. You'll learn better if you can enjoy the experience, after all. But she's not one to let go of the old ways, no matter how harsh." Then, after a brief pause, Astrid looked back at her stepdaughter with a playful chuckle. "...Don't tell her I said that."

[Pegasus]

Sarabeth was far from an experienced wrestler and she was only ever trained by her adoptive father and Alania. She had only competed in bingo halls, abandoned warehouses, community centers, and even airports. Sarabeth had little experience from her local indies and Japan was set to be the next stage of her career as well as her signing a contract with WFPW to compete over in America occasionally as well. She was going to get more experience regardless and after hearing the dissent her entry into the Young Lioness Program created, she had to chuckle herself. It always amused her when her name came up in discussions, but that was more back in high school.

“Ya know, the same kind of discussions came up with trainers for my adoptive father’s promotion back in the States. They said they were worried I would get better treatment just because I was his daughter. They even cited me being solely trained by Alania as evidence of their worries. However, Alania is a family friend and she even performed for my adoptive father’s promotion to help it get steam. Alania saw potential in me, but didn’t want me being reckless when it came to performing on the bigger stages so she gave me the in at LAW. She wanted people like you and Tina to help me settle into wrestling in Japan. I get what Akira says, but as long as you don’t treat me better than the other students, that problem gets solved by itself,” Sarabeth explained her opinion leaning back in her seat.

[CaptainL]

"Is that so?" The smile grew wider across Astrid's face as she leaned in closer to Sarabeth, intent on following every beat of her story. "Well, if you had only one person to be trained by, you can't do that wrong with Alaina..." She chuckled at her own joke, but her eyes grew serious as she stared back out at the road. While Astrid's praise of the Amazon came from the heart - she knew she deserved her place among the stars with all the hard work, dedication, and effort she had put into her craft through her many years of wrestling, and it had been by no accident that she had ended up with the Heavyweight Championship - she couldn't help but feel a little wistful, thinking back on the belt that she had once held. Alaina had always been her inspiration, and she had motivated Astrid to push past her limits and strive to reach her level just as much as she had done for Sarabeth. But if, after so long, Alaina had still taken the belt off of Astrid, did that mean the Norsewoman couldn't quite reach her status? Had she fallen short of her goal?

Whatever the case might have been, Astrid soon sat up straighter in her seat, clearing her throat. No use in dwelling on the past, she told herself. Sarabeth had a bright future to look forward to. "Don't worry. I don't have any intention of going easy on you. I might as well forget you're my daughter - which won't be that hard, when I didn't know you were at first!" She laughed again. "You know, when I was first setting out to become a wrestler myself, my dad was the first person I asked to train me. It made sense, right? He knew a lot about wrestling, competing all the years he did, and I had the easiest access to him out of anyone. But you know what? He turned me down. Not because he didn't believe in me. But he said he knew that I was his daughter, and no matter how hard he tried, he was still going to be afraid to hurt me. Or that he'd be too lenient, or that he'd play favorites. And that would make him a bad trainer. It told me that, at the end of the day, what matters most is if you have what it takes. Either you make it, or you don't. You need someone who won't be afraid to find that out about you. And if I see you making any glaring mistakes...I won't be afraid to tell you. I'm not afraid to do that to your father, after all."

It was right then that Astrid took another turn, where the sign of the Hard Rock Cafe came into view. "Ah, here we are!" She pulled into the parking lot, bringing the car to a stop.

[Pegasus]

Sarabeth knew what she was getting herself into and that a family legacy now fell upon her to uphold. Astrid made it known it wouldn’t be easy and she would have to let their relationship as mother and daughter slide a little bit so Sarabeth can stand on her own two feet. She even recounted how her own father turned her down to train Astrid as he didn’t want to get in the way of her success. It seems her stepmother just wanted to set the example he did and treat Sarabeth as if she was just another student. She will always be her daughter, but there are some instances where that label will be set aside.

“You don’t have to tell me it’s going to be hard. My adoptive father told me as much. He always told me his promotion was just a kiddie pool compared to the larger ocean of wrestling. I got big boots to feel and now that your dad finally decided to retire for good, we got to do him proud,” Sarabeth explained.

It was true. Lars Ostberg finally gave up the wrestling boots and retired at age 66 a couple months ago at WFPW’s British Invasion show. This was before Will and Astrid met Sarabeth, but they attended a special ceremony Lars hosted where his wife and family joined him. Sarabeth was able to watch a recording of it and she had to admit it was a special sight to see. The brothers, Hans and Lars, technically her grandfathers now that her father married into Astrid’s family, started off in the mid-80s just after their father sustained a bad leg injury that halted his own career. The brothers were big names in the territory days and the modern indies before they settled down. A brief resurgence brought upon by Astrid joining the sport made them inspired to keep their careers and love of wrestling alive. They are done with all that, but the legacy has been passed to William, Astrid, Marne, and Sarabeth.

“What kind of music do you like, Mom? I know your theme is more classical, but I don’t take you as the kind to just sit around and listen to the record player,” Sarabeth joked as she got out of the car.