A Serpent in the Court: Aspasia El-Shenawy vs Astaire Myrid

[BlackAkuma]

*Submission Match*
Victory can only be obtained by making your opponent submit.

Asp was no stranger to fighting in front of a crowd, and certainly not to performing. Her travels had sent her across the world, where all manner of eyes had come to stare her way, watching as she danced for them, contorted and twisted, molded her body to their desires and scintillated their senses, drawing on their interest and intrigue, tempting them and driving them wild. Some buckled under that pressure, and she could not blame - when she started out, she could count herself among that number. But time and experience had made her accustomed to the spotlight, had taught her to still her fluttering heart. She was beyond such distractions.

Or so she had thought. As she stood in the gorilla position with the largest crowd she had ever encountered by far waiting on the other side of the curtain, she felt a tinge of that old nervousness. A slight apprehension. It was the difference between going through a rainstorm and a hurricane, and the effect was, at first, overwhelming.

Nag and Naigina seemed to since their mistress’ discomfort, and the twin snakes wound tighter about her arms, clutching her in a steely embrace that most would’ve mistook for aggression. While she wouldn’t claim to read an animal’s mind, she saw it more as affection. A gentle hug, in their own way. If they wanted to hurt her, they could. This was simply their method of settling her nerves.

It worked.

Asp

Beauty Beats by Beats Antique

The Asp that emerged from the curtains was made of sterner stuff than the one that had existed a moment before. All eyes moved to her straight away, centering on the unique beauty making her way down the ramp. She took pride in being a rare sight, even in a place like LAW that was host to so many different styles, and she carried her head high with every step. This was her debut, her time, and she looked to make the most of this impression as she put her body on display with every step, making her muscles writhe about her skin, creating a spectacle for them to remember.

Judging by the appreciative nods and leering stares she received, her efforts weren’t without fruit. She was new. She was fresh. She was alive. She was here.

Asp made her way around the ring and dropped to a knee so that her pets could slither their way off her shoulders. They intertwined with one another and took their rest, lying still with a rather nervous time keeper only a few feet away. She blew the man a kiss and stepped away, sliding in under the ropes and rising up like her namesake, twisting about to the music’s rising crescendo and continuing to do so even as it began to fade.

Soon, a new song would play, and with it, her partner for the night would arrive. The anticipation alone was enough to leave her shivering.

[Aeri]

As the first of the Court of the Night to have gotten a match, Astaire was determined to do his job right. Or.. that was what he thought Cynari would have said. He figured his uptight friend would have taken this uber seriously, but Astaire was determined to simply.. have fun and amuse himself. Wrestling for him wasn’t a passion, simply something he was good at and brought in money. So he was trying to discover the passion involved by accepting any and all matches that came his way. It wasn’t unpleasant, truly..

But, Astaire thought as he stepped out of guerilla position and began walking down the ramp, the crowd having a loud reaction to his appearance and his outfit, him wincing lightly at the volume and sheer mass of people there.. he wished that the people wouldn’t be so.. so.. loud. He’d supposed it was due to the fact the mixed matches were a bit more rarer than female vs female matches, and of course..

He assumed they naturally hadn’t seen anyone as charming as him.

Spoiler

Before he walk into the ring, he took a detour. Towards the announcers table, looking at the snakes curiously. He looked at them, disregarding all the crowds notions in desire for his curiosity. He wasn’t particularly scared of snakes. He was scared of weirder things, like ghosts and chickens, but not snakes. Having satiated his curiosity, he’d walk into the ring and meet his opponents eyes, offering her a pleasing smile.

“Hello. I adore your serpentine friends, and I hope we can have a good time in here today, hm?”

[BlackAkuma]

While management didn’t like their wrestlers to know who they were fighting against on their debuts, in case they might see a dangerous opponent coming and get cold feet, Asp could have figured out who she was fighting if she desired it. She did know how to use the internet, and the match layout for the night would inevitably slip out there, showing up on Twitter or some obscure Facebook page. If she had wanted to know who her foe was, she would know.

She did not seek that information out, however, wanting her first impression of this man to be fresh and pure. This turned out to be the correct choice.

Before her opponent entered, Asp settled into her corner, sat down with her legs crossed, closed her eyes and went into her breathing exercises. To the untrained eye, it might have even seemed as if she had fallen asleep, right then and there, but she was still fully aware of her surroundings. This was simply a way to keep her body under control until she needed it, conserving energy and calming the mind. While she kept her eyes closed, she could hear the crowd’s reaction all about her, and they seemed as intrigued by whoever was making his way down to the ring as they had been with her. While his music was, perhaps, a bit abrupt for her tastes, she could look past it and feel this man’s aura as he came to the ring and sense the attention he commanded with his presence.

Interesting.

His music died soon enough, and she opened her eyes to see what she was facing. To her surprise, she was forced to tilt her head upwards far more than she had anticipated, craning her neck back to take in the full measure of his frame. Astaire was a tower of a man, not far from two meters if she had to guess, with no shortage of muscle boast. A defined, impeccable body adorned with ornate finery, shimmering like a jewel in the bright lights. He was a far cry from whatever one thought of when the word ‘wrestler’ crossed their mind, but then, the same could be said of her. It was no mystery why they had been paired against one another.

Asp mirrored his smile as he spoke, finding his honeyed voice pleasing to the ear, a soft and soothing tone that only added to his intrigue. She did not answer him straightaway - not with words, at least. Instead, she stood up with a slow rise and made her way over to him, swaying from side to side with every step. Once she was close enough, she stopped, reached out, and placed a light hand on his chest, touching it with the tips of her fingers. She traced his fine skin, running her hand along the counters of his muscles, taking in every curve and feeling the power within. This was a body that could deliver pleasure and pain, and she shivered in anticipation of both.

Yes. This would suffice. ”I believe we will.” She leaned in and took a deep breath to commit his scent to memory. ”It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, truly. I am Aspasia El-Shenawy, but do not burden your tongue. Call me ‘Asp’, by all means.”

[Aeri]

While Astaire looked gorgeous and he knew it, one would wonder how someone like him had such.. a toned, sleek figure? He didn’t seem like the type to work out a lot, and while it was true and he wasn’t a frequent gym goer, only going there once or twice.. Astaire’s true reason for this was gymnastics and running.

A lot of running, he was excellent at parkour and did it for fun many times to amuse himself on slow days. She may have been a serpent, animals known for their flexibility.. but he assumed he was just as good as she was, perhaps better in that aspect. Asp certainly seemed to like him. As he watched, the sleek, green attired woman mirrored his smile and began to press her fingers across his body, touching and getting a proper feel.

.. for Astaire, this was.. not an uncommon occurrence. People couldn’t resist touching or eyeing him not so subtly, part of the reason he had an ego.

“Of course we will, Asp.”

He’d say a little invitingly. But when the serpentine opponent of his leaned in to take his scent, his hand moved forwards and cupped her chin, stopping her and tilting her head up a little.

She was met with his bemused smile, teasing but mostly a bit pleased.

“Now now.. I can see you would like to get much closer with me.. but I think that can wait until after the bell rings..”

[BlackAkuma]

Asp made no moves to stop him from grasping her chin as she moved in - not that she could have stopped him if she tried, in all likelihood. While she was weakling, his strength would far outstrip hers, and not simply because he was a man. He was the clear winner in power between them, and she could already tell that any attempt to overpower such an able bodied foe would end in disaster.

Not that she was intimidated. Far from it, actually. The thought of challenge, of spectacle, of glorious victory or defeat, only made her blood race that much faster.

She acknowledged his suggestion with a nod and moved away from his hand, flicking her tongue out for a quick taste along his palm as they parted. The referee, who had been standing by with a curious, cautious stare, moved into the gap she created and prepared to begin the match in earnest.

Asp went for a little stroll around the ring, lazily dragging her feet along the canvas with each step, contemplating the best way to begin things. It would have been wise to take things slow at first, gain his measure before she committed to anything drastic.

Tactical, yes, but dull. She had not come to LAW to be dull.

The moment the referee called for the bell, Asp dashed forward, closing back in with swift, powerful strides. Once in range, she planted a foot on the floor, leaped up, and came at his face with a kick that boasted speed worthy of her namesake, striking at him like a whip.

[Aeri]

Astaire wiped off his palm on his clothing, exhaling lightly and keeping it clean. She was.. sensual to say the very least, but he wasn’t sure yet how he felt about her methods of seduction.

There was indeed something there though. Beneath Asp’s actions, he could tell.. she was no pushover. Not in the slightest, behind her eyes lay a sleeping serpent.. and it was getting roused the second the bell rang. And Astaire knew.. if he had a chance, he needed to stop being bitten.

🛎 DING DING DING!! 🛎

Chimed the bell. He had his eyes on Asp, and he wasn’t foreign to her movements. She struck like a venomous predator, and he was determined not to be her prey. Asp approached rapidly, snapping out with a kick. Astaire raised his hands to block, barely managing to get it up in time in order to prevent her blow head on. But he had no intent to spend his time defending.

In fact, Astaire wrapped his hands around her ankles, twisting his hip and swung, tossing Aspasia right into the turnbuckle with a solid thud!

[BlackAkuma]

Power.

That was what Asp felt when Astaire snatched her leg out of the arm and held it in his implacable grip. It was one thing to block a punch, but doing so with a kick was no small feat. While Asp didn’t boast a great degree of power, her legs had true venom to them, and the strike she sent his way had felled more than a few opponents in her time. The way he so casually dealt with it was concerning, there was no denying that.

But she had more pressing concerns at the moment, such as dealing with the way he was currently lifting her up and fling her across the ring.

It was a brazen display of force, but not one she had no way of dealing with. Asp twisted about in the air as she flew, turning towards the turnbuckle with arms outstretched.

She was just able to catch the ropes at the last second, saving her face from ramming into the pads, but she knew there would be no time for a sigh of relief. She’d had a taste of what he could do, a better understanding of what the danger was, and she already realized the folly in giving him time to press his advantages. She needed to take the fight to him.

Asp didn’t bother to turn around. Instead, she leaped straight up, planted her foot on the top rope, and vaulted back towards him with a wild flip. Her leg shot through the air in an arch, taking a path that would bring her foot careering towards his face - a higher altitude version of a Pele Kick.