A search for a (re)debut opponent...

[Vc0m]

While a new episode of Monday Night LAW was being transmitted live throughout the world, in the arena where the episode was taped tonight, Lyanna Eon sat in the locker room, deciding on an opponent for her redebut.

At first, her choices fell on one of her two students in the company - Melody Serperior and Navi Florges...but soon, she discovered that Navi was busy with the Middleweight Tourney, while Melody was preparing for her own match on the PPV. The redhaired highflyer knew that now was not a good time to challenge either of her students right now.

Instead, she was allowed to sit in LAW's arenas watching matches to decide on her potential opponent for her debut, which was scheduled for the next week's episode of weekly LAW TV.

With less than a week to go, Lya was also looking at her phone, with the "roster" section of the LAW website open to her to search for an opponent:

"No. No...No...Nooooooo...Nope...Nah...Sorry, no...Hmm...maybe...Damnit...nnyop..."

Opening and closing names at the speed of light, Lya checked both the skill and the record of her opponent's on her phone, being very audible as she did so. She was starting her career anew, for sure...but she was a veteran wrestler. She wanted to either face someone with a very solid win/loss record to showcase her skills...or, alternatively, if she were to lower her expectations, someone making their debut in the company as well, someone who, like her, was looking to gain notoriety...

But as Lya looked at both the TV above, and her phone, the search, and the subsequent arrangement of her match, looked like it would take quite a bit of time, causing the redhaired wrestler groan in boredom...

[Bear-Pin]

In the back of the locker room sat a platinum blonde beauty clad in black and plaid, seemingly freshly dressed after a shower, staring at her phone and typing ferociously.

Astrid 8:03PM - "TWO WEEKS?! What do you mean two weeks? We're supposed to appear together! Management told me that one way or another they're putting me in a ring next week. I need at least one of you here!"
Larissa 8:05PM - "Relax, chica. I should be arriving later this week. You shouldn't be too alone. Just find some vulnerable woman to make a spectacle of. Worst case scenario I can help out."
Roze 8:06PM - "Yeah, you'll be fine. You have that roster link on their intranet to look through, right? Just find somebody to make a name off of from there."
Astrid 8:10PM - "Fine fine, but if anything happens to me, I want a round of drinks from each of you three."

She looked up from her phone and sighed. This would be so much easier if she could count on either of those women to be in Japan and pass their physicals in time for a match next Monday, but that seemed like it would be a long-shot at this point. Thankfully, management seemed to take pity on her situation and gave her the option of choosing her opponent for singles competition should it come to that, which it certainly seemed like an inevitability.

Unfortunately, she had already breezed through the roster pages about half a dozen times with little success in finding many viable options. Most women seemed like they'd either squash her, both metaphorically and literally, or were already booked for next week. If she didn't figure something out soon, she was bound to be stuck with a very unfortunate match-up. Maybe she could convince them to just let her do a promo to tease her partners or...

Just then she spotted a lone redhead watching the night's broadcast who seemed to be searching through profiles on her phone as she verbally expressed her disappointment. It almost seemed like she was looking at the talent on both screens, or perhaps she could be using one of those swipe dating apps. It was enough to pique Astrid's curiosity. In the least, it would be a nice distraction from her current dilemma. Her phone vibrated again, but she ignored it as she slipped it into her waistband and strode up beside the mystery woman to catch a glimpse of the same LAW intranet pages she'd seen all too much of lately.

"Hey there, I couldn't help but notice that you're a bit frustrated there," she smiled pleasantly before turning playfully coy, "Did somebody not give you everything you wanted in the ring tonight?" Astrid teased with the obvious insinuation that her target may have been in an erotic affair earlier.

[Vc0m]

"Nope...nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn...hm?", at first, Lya continued to swipe through the phone with the same ferocity she swiped her phone when using Tinder...or would have, had she actually used the app...until someone would call out to her. She would turn her head, noticing a pretty looking, platinum blonde haired woman addressing her.

"Oh, not into this sort of stuff in the ring, sorry to say", Lya replied with a sly smile, recognizing the implications of the woman's question: "Didn't really have a match here yet at...nnah...at all, to be honest", she would reply, taking a moment off the conversation for just a brief moment, noticing who she thought was an interesting looking opponent on her phone screen...before realizing that she was simply not that interesting. "Looking for my to-be-debut-opponent right now, to be exact..."

Turning off her phone for the moment (knowing that her ADD would kick in during the conversation if she didn't), Lya would outstretch her hand towards the woman with an honest smile on her face: "Lya Eon. You may have heard of me...or...not...haven't been in the ring for a while...Nice to meet you Ms...?"

[Bear-Pin]

Astrid couldn't help but giggle as Lya replied to her insinuation complete with a sly smile of her own. She could certainly appreciate that this woman had some quick wit of her own. In truth, she relished that. It seemed she had picked a good distraction and one that seemed to be looking for the same thing she was. Hopefully, she could suss out whether this woman would be any good as a match-up or if she'd be getting herself into some trouble.

She took a moment as Lya spoke to assess the physicality of the woman. She was certainly a fit one, and she could have sworn that her face was familiar, but nothing was striking her. As she reached her hand out and implied that she was a former wrestler and from the sounds of it, one that was looking to get back in the ring after a bit of time away from it. Astrid smiled and met the hand with her own to shake it. "Astrid, Astrid Kernuish. You also may or may not have heard of me... or more likely my voice," she replied. Astrid had one hit to her name, whereas the rest of her music career's success was in thanks to her production, not her own artistry. She doubted Ms. Eon had heard of her, but it was worth the quid pro quo banter.

"Your face seems familiar, but your name isn't ringing many bells," she admitted truthfully. There was no need for deceit just yet. "I'm sorry to hear that you're having no luck finding a debut opponent. I'm guessing that you've been out of the game for a bit? Looking for the right woman to get you back in the mood?" Now was a time for questions, but there was no reason she couldn't still playfully insinuate. She needed to figure out why she recognized Lya's face. Perhaps she was somebody she saw on the roster list earlier?

[Vc0m]

"Voice? Hmm...", Lya pondered, as she intently watched at woman's face, replaying her voice in her head. She barely listened to radio over the last couple of years, mostly listening to podcasts while driving or training...if Astrid was implying that she was a singer, then there was little chance Lya would recognize her...

Checking how fit the woman was, however, a "singer" wouldn't have been Lya's first guess at Astrid's career, having a solid build up of muscles, and had a solid grip in her handshake, which was similar to ones from a fellow wrestler, or simply a sportswoman of some kind...

"Ah, it's fine. Being out of wrestling for a few years would do that to you...", she would explain, her attention shifting from time to time back to her phone for less then a second while the page loaded...

"And yeah...kinda wanna face either a veteran wrestler with a good record...or, if I were to lower my expectations...", she winked at Astrid: "Maybe a fellow LAW rookie?"

[Bear-Pin]

Astrid kept a playful face as she died a little inside. How was it that nobody recognized her voice? It hadn't changed much since that album, right? Then again she was only a guest vocalist on it. Maybe if she brought up Suzzanna's album and how she produced it... Nah, at this point it seemed foolish to talk music with this woman. She seemed much more fixated on wrestling, which was just perfect for Astrid.

The Platinum Princess cracked a genuine smile as Lyanna fired back with a clever response. "That's cute," she said retracting her hand and beckoning the ring veteran to her feet. "You're right calling me a LAW rookie, but I can assure you that you won't be lowering your standards. After all, I'm sure a woman with a few years of rust on her would find debuting against those spry, established LAW veterans that everybody's seen at least a dozen times to be a bit overwhelming," she folded her arms under her breasts to emphasize them as if that would intimidate the redhead. She would have probably done better staring with her cold blue eyes into Lya's hazel ones.

What was she getting herself into? The more she looked at Lyanna, the more certain she was that the roster pages had her ranked pretty highly despite never setting foot in a LAW ring. There Astrid was again, writing checks with her mouth that her ass wasn't likely going to be able to cash.

[Vc0m]

As the conversation switched from music to wrestling, Astrid motioned Lya to stand up, the redhead obeying the request, as the blonde explained to Lya that choosing her for her first opponent wasn't a bad idea, nor was it a simple "second-best" option.

"Hmmmm...", the redhead would have her hand at her chin. What Astrid was saying was making sense. Jumping in, head first, into the ring with ladies that had quite a lot of experience, some of whom being in the ring even longer than she had been gone, might not have been the best idea currently, when she didn't have a match in the last 7 years. Her flaws might be easily exploited, some new tricks in the game she could easily fall victim too...facing the truth, when it came to coming back in the ring, her "re-debut", might've practically been her debut altogether.

With her staring into Astrid's eyes for a few more seconds, she finally nodded: "What you are saying makes sense...soooooo...I'd gather you are free next Monday night? And in a mood for a good, standard type of a wrestling match?", she slyly asked Astrid, as she outstretched her hand to Astrid for a confirming handshake...

[Bear-Pin]

Astrid stood in wait as Lyanna seemed to be digesting her words. It was truly a risky move on the platinum blonde's part in essentially egging on a veteran opponent that may be suffering from some ring rust. On the one hand, the experience Lya may have from possibly more established promotions compared to Astrid's own experience in small indie scenes and a fairly unsuccessful MMA background could prove to be her demise. However, if she had been away from the ring for a long time, something that the music producer would have to confirm after the fact if she agreed.

Suddenly, she saw Lya nod as she stared at the blonde's blue eyes with conviction. "Hmm... only a standard match huh?" she teased with a wink. "I suppose I could move around a few appointments for that," Astrid grinned as she met Lya's outstretched hand with her own and grasped it firmly. "Should I make sure there's a walker for you backstage so that you can make it to the ring all right, dear Lya?" she delivered her competitive banter as her grin turned into a smirk, making sure to keep a firm grip on that handshake.

[Vc0m]

With Astrid agreeing to her conditions, the blonde firmly took her hand into her's for a shake...

...before firmly transitioning in trash talk...a normal wrestler would've probably punched or cussed the girl out...

...however, Lya missed this in her time away as much as actual wrestling. Trash talk, while to a smaller extent, was still a part of the upcoming match as the blows and holds that are to come in the battle itself, trying to impact foe psychologically. The redhead's reaction to her soon-to-be-opponent's taunt and smirk was an even brighter smile:

"Ohohoho...I'll be fine...", Lya said, slightly increasing her grip in the handshake, not hurting her rival's hand, but definitely making her feel the power behind it: "But I would worry about some for yourself...after the match", she would finish, relaxing her grip...

[Bear-Pin]

The platinum blonde grinned, although inwardly she was a bit intimidated by the conviction of Lyanna's words as well as her grip. Astrid couldn't show it though as she remained calm, cool, and collected while trying to up her own grip to match Lya's, albeit noticeably a little less so before relaxing hers as well. "I'll alert the paramedics," she responded with a genuine laugh and smile as she prepared to disengage the handshake. "You know, I was dreading my debut here, but now I think you just made it very, very exciting," Astrid said as her phone buzzed in her waistband.

Part of her wondered which of the women that was, but in the back of her mind, she already knew. That better not be who I think it is...

"So should I let management know, or do you want the honors?"