Better Late than Never

[CaptainL]

Astrid had locked Jenny in the abdominal stretch not in an effort to win, but to test her. If the hold proved enough to get Jenny to tap out, then it was what it was. But to Astrid, the way the blue-haired girl responded was just as important as if she would be able to escape, if not more so. Astrid had faced Jenny with no small amount of adversity, forcing her to fight against incredible force when a larger, stronger woman was bearing down on her with all her might. But if Jenny wanted to succeed, she had to be ready for opponents who would push her to her limits. The Norsewoman looked her over with a cautious eye, thinking of how she had cried out in pain. If she gave in now, it would certainly be a sign that she would have a long way to go before she was ready to make a place for herself in the main event scene. But if she truly showed determination, courage, and commitment, she just might be able to force her way out...

And sure enough, that was just what she did! With another hard push, balancing her weight just right, Jenny managed to slide out from Astrid's grip - and the Norsewoman had no choice but to let go! As she stepped back from Jenny, Astrid dusted off her hands, but she still nodded her head to the blue-haired girl with a warm smile on her face. "Well done," she said. "I encouraged you to fight back because I had a feeling that with enough motivation, you could make it! And you certainly haven't disappointed!"

Just as quickly, though, Astrid lowered herself back into a fighting stance, and came charging right back toward Jenny, lowering her shoulder to ram it into her chest! "But this isn't over!" Astrid had just gotten Jenny to prove how tough she could be - now, she was going to put her speed and reaction time up to the task!

[Lederface]

Jenny really couldn't tell if that was something of a surprise, or she really knew what she was doing fully, as once she managed to push her body enough so that her grip became more open to an escape, Jenny would use it, coming out of it and gasping as she felt her limbs ache, so as she started to get up, Jenny would make a few small sounds, complaining about the pain and having to relax those muscles a bit.

Clearly it had only been a few moments, but Astrid wasn't about to give Jenny a break, that was valid, so when she heard Astrid warning her that everything was still in play, Jenny seeing her running towards her, Jenny would instinctively end up putting her arms out to protect herself, being hit by Astrid's onslaught, Jenny would end up being thrown off of her, colliding with the ropes and flailing her arms after that, feeling a little pain, but getting out of those ropes, Jenny would raise her arms in fighting position, she was already starting to get tired, but clearly she wasn't finished!

[CaptainL]

Whether it had been by conscious effort or mere instinct, Astrid's thoughts on Jenny's accomplishments weren't going to change. The blue-haired girl was demonstrating that she knew how to handle herself in the ring, and to Astrid, that was all that mattered. Regardless as to how she might have come by the moves she'd made, they had come from a place that was going to serve her well - and if they had been able to free herself from the clutches of a champion, Astrid had no doubt that they spoke to a bright future for Jenny. That being said, Astrid didn't believe in going easy on anyone! As she saw it, the best test of an opponent's potential was how well they could adapt to the rising momentum, and how far they were willing to go even in the face of danger. Astrid was willing to put that to the test - a true opponent wouldn't give Jenny the time to recover after an escape like that, and so Astrid wouldn't either!

Before Jenny had a chance to prepare herself, Astrid had already come charging into her, slamming up against her with her full weight. No matter what she tried to do to protect herself, it wouldn't work - there was only so much she could do to hold back the sort of force Astrid had at her disposal! Her shoulder charge met Jenny square in the chest, and she went stumbling back toward the ropes. When she pushed herself off of them a moment later, Astrid nodded her head with a smile as she saw her get into a stance - if she was able to throw herself back into the fray so soon, the Norsewoman thought, it spoke to her endurance and her energy, and above all her fighting spirit, which wouldn't be so easily quelled. But Astrid was still going to put that to the test!

"Not bad...not bad indeed!" Astrid said. "You're tough, I can see that as much. But just how tough are you?" With that as her challenge, Astrid moved to throw her arms once again around Jenny's sides, getting a good enough grip on her to haul her up and off her feet. This time, however, if she wasn't stopped, she would try and sling Jenny overhead, to hurl her to the mat with a belly-to-belly suplex!

[Lederface]

Jenny when she was impacted by Astrid, she felt like a truck, she could barely keep it in a situation she could handle watching Astrid position herself in front of her, Jenny knew there wasn't as much to maneuver now, so as soon as she was taken, Jenny would try to break free, kicking uncontrollably at Astrid, but she knew it would not be enough, so taking her moment, Jenny would bring her two legs together to give a strong push, even if she fell out of the ring because of the position they were in, she would not allow Astrid to have her in that grip that totally took away her ability to respond.

[CaptainL]

Jenny had given a valiant effort, trying to strain and struggle against the powerful set of arms that had wrapped tightly around her now - but, in the end, Astrid's grip wouldn't be broken that easily. As she lifted Jenny for the suplex, Astrid looked the blue-haired girl up and down, muttering under her breath. She had challenged Jenny to try and fight back even in the face of what must have surely seemed like impossible odds, but even with that sort of motivation, what Jenny could put forth just wasn't enough to bring Astrid's arms to even budge. If Jenny had given up now, Astrid would certainly have a few words for her...

But, as it turned out, Jenny hadn't given up at all. She knew there was no hope of besting Astrid in a contest of physical prowess - so instead of wasting her time trying to power out of her hold, she would fall back on a different tactic. Just as Astrid was about to toss her overhead, Jenny kicked out with her legs, and the Norsewoman teetered as her center of balance was shifted ever so slightly to the side. She let out a gasp - and then, at last, her footing gave out! When Astrid had followed Jenny to the ropes, she had nowhere to fall but out of the ring - and she went tumbling out onto the floor below. But she dragged her opponent down with her in the process. When she landed with a thud, it was with Jenny still in her grasp!

Astrid needed a moment to shake the cobwebs out of her head. Panting and groaning, she picked herself up onto her knees, rubbing at her temples to dull the aches. She had just taken a fall to the outside of the ring, after all. Still, when she looked back at Jenny, her face lit up with a smile. "That...was a good choice," she explained. "You must know that you face a disadvantage in a test of strength - so instead, you're going to look for other ways to take me down, yeah? I like that - it's the sort of quick thinking and strategizing you'll need to succeed!"

Astrid was beaming with pride - but a moment later, a frown came to her face. Regardless of how proud she was, Jenny had just come crashing to the floor along with her, and it just now dawned on her that she might not be in any place to hear her praise right now. "...Er...are you okay?" Astrid asked, leaning over toward Jenny.

[Lederface]

Jenny after all that, she had been exhausted, lying on the canvas without a sound, she almost looked knocked out, but she herself wondered for a moment of her situation, both outside and inside the ring, a few weeks away she would be facing a tough Opponent, and her body and mind were shaking from the mere thought of it, but listening to Astrid, she would remember a little of what it was like to do what she could with what she had, so when asked about her condition, she would raise her free hand

You still can't ring the count!!!!.

Jenny would say finally taking the impulse again to stand up, gasping at the sight of Astrid and thinking that she wouldn't have been harmed, but she wouldn't stop, trying to move her hand away to recompose her posture and act again, keeping her usual smile.

[CaptainL]

Astrid wanted to encourage Jenny to bring forth the best in her she could manage. She wanted to push her to her limits and to motivate the girl to make her proud. Part of that was putting her up to greater and greater challenges to see how well the girl could fight her way out of them, instilling in her the values of commitment, determination, and willpower in the face of adversity. But Astrid also knew that everyone had their limit - and when she looked down to see Jenny pinned between her weight and the canvas, all but laid flat, she had to wonder if she had pushed Jenny that far. She believed in challenging her trainees, yes, but she also knew that if they got hurt from being worked too hard, they wouldn't be able to benefit from it.

But Jenny was just as eager to stand up to the challenge as ever - and just then, she got her hand up, calling out to the Norsewoman in defiance! At that, Astrid chuckled. "Ahh, very well, very well!" she said. If Jenny was this willing to fight, no matter how much Astrid put her through, she had just the sort of determination she wanted to see!

Scooting back from Jenny, Astrid pushed herself up onto her knees, where she took a moment to dust herself off. For a moment, she had to ask herself if Jenny was going to need a break after all she'd been through, or if it was time to let one of the other members of WNG have a turn in order to let her catch her breath. But the fact that Jenny sprung back up to her feet was all Astrid needed to answer her questions - it was going to take more than that to put her away for good! "All right, then..." Getting up and cracking her knuckles, the Norsewoman sank into a stance, taking a step closer to narrow the distance between her and her sparring partner. "Let's see what you can do, then. Hit me with your best shot!" She wanted Jenny to make the first move, to see what she'd be capable of even in such a state. That would help her gauge her foe's stamina!