Christina taking a break?

[Weonna]

She sighed as she started to find a seat to rub her head.

"Truth is...I'm kinda tired...I've been doing so much training and wrestling and I had a lot of matches this past year...my body is just sore from taking a lot of damage and I desperately needed a break..."

Christina looked very stressful as the last match really dropped her morale despite the fact that she won.

"It's just I need time to have my body rest...I'm not done with wrestling of course but I need a break...but then you came along and well..." she avoided eye contact with Helen.

"It complicated things...I know you want another match with me and I feel like if I back down now both of us are not going to be satisfied..." Christina started to scratch her head.

"So I will agree to do one more match before my big break...and hopefully you will understand my position."

[ScylliasExoter]

Expressing empathy wasn't Helen's strong suit. She listened with an expressionless face and pondered for a few moments. Helen knew all too well the effects (and danger) of burnout. She trained non-stop for the Olympics for a large part of her life. The highs were amazing, but the lows were truly awful. She could see a bit of herself in this moment. Whether it was sympathy or self-interest, who could say? Helen sat next to her and said, "No. I want you at your best. Anything less and I'll doubt... Listen take whatever time you need to rest... And have fun. Take that vacation. And when you come back we will have a fight better than ever."

[Weonna]

"And have you train while I'm away? No way..." Christina had a serious face before she started to legitimately giggle and laugh.

"See what you do to me Helen...Usually I'm never this compete but you bring it in me to do better..." she smiled before looking away at Helen.

"Listen...as much as I need this rest I already said I would challenge you next week...so here is what's going to happen...you and I...one last bout and then I can take time off...what do you say...we got a deal?" She smiled as she offered a hand to shake.

[ScylliasExoter]

"You make a compelling case. And yeah you bring it out in me too..." Helen shuffled awkwardly for a moment. "Fine. One more match in a steel cage before you go on a break." Helen was surprised to see Christina offer her hand given how their last couple of encounters have gone. Helen took her hand and they shook on it. She started walking away but then turned around and piped up. "When was the last time you took an ice bath? Or been to a sauna?" she asked.

[Weonna]

"Hmm...really don't know...been a while...you know a place?" Christina stood up curious if Helen would invite her to spend a moment with her.

[ScylliasExoter]

"Normally I'd use the LAW gym but that would attract attention. Surely Hiro has something set up here. Ice first, then heat. It helps a lot with muscle recovery. Come on. I want you at your best. This'll help. It's what I was going to do before we saw each other."

[Weonna]

"Ok fine...I'll try the ice bath...follow me I've seen Hiro do his ice bath here..." Christina takes Helen to a private area with Three steel tubs. In the area there was a Hoshizaki ice machine where Hiro stores in the ice.

"Oooof..." Christina took a deep sigh as she honestly hated the ice bath. She loves hot showers and can't stand the cold but Helen was already here and she didn't want to back down.

"So yeah this is where Hiro usually sets up his ice bath..." Christina began to shiver already as the thought of going into the ice was already making her uncomfortable.

[ScylliasExoter]

Helen began drawing the ice bath. "I want you at your best. And I know you want to be at your best. Our match will be the best. No tie breaker on YouTube. No pyrrhic victory. Just one of us standing over the other. This will help you get there. We'll make it short." Helen paused. "It sucks but you get used to it. It's really good for your recovery. And the heated blanket you wrap yourself in later is sublime. Bonus points if you have soup or a hot beverage too." She stripped to her activewear, and plunged into the ice bath first.

[Weonna]

Christina saw Helen jump in and hesitated as she have set up her own ice bath.

"Yeah give me a minute I'll jump in this tub..." Christina went out to get some deep breaths in. The last time she was in an ice bath she vowed never to do it again but seeing Helen jump in with no hesitation made her feel envious.

"Come on Christina you can do this...it's just ice...no need to feel so nervous..." she slapped her face a couple times before arriving in her active wear and took another deep breath. She slowly got inside the tub and tried her best to not show any signs of discomfort. Once she had submerged herself in the water she closed her eyes and tried to calm down...besides its only 5 minutes and if she could last 5 minutes in the ring she could take in an ice bath.

"This....sucks...." Christina silently said to herself.

[ScylliasExoter]

The two sat there in silence. When Helen's timer went off they got out of the baths and bundled up with towels. "Let's get something hot like ramen," Helen said with chattering teeth. "Then a heated blanket tonight. You'll feel better in the morning. This routine was a godsend when I was sprinting." When she had warmed up sufficiently, Helen got dressed and waited to see if Christina would go with her.