Showing the ropes (and something more) - For Galactic Thing

[Galahad]

Of course Anne had her pride as a wrestler, but that was limited to inside the ring or against less polite rivals. If some debutant executed a well-crafted huricanrana like that one in the middle of a match surely the redhead would have felt the sting of her hurt pride, but in a sparring and learning environment it was one more reason and a great oportunity for study, moreso being Salem as nice to be around as she was. The pinkette looked at Anne a little puzzled about the Phoenix’s request for her to teach how to execute that move, but for Anne it made perfect sense. “Sure. Honestly I’m terrified of moves in which I have to take off the mat, but I will have to tackle them sooner or later, and you executed that perfectly so some would say you’re a perfect viable teacher for this.”

Anne carefully listened to what Salem had to say about the huricanrana, taking mental notes of all the pointers her sparring partner gave her, trying out some of the movements while standing next to Salem. Being the two of them similar in size would make things easier for her. When she was sure she could give it a try without hurting anyone Anne asked: “I think I understand. May I have a try now?” Taking her turn, Anne would whip Salem against one of the ropes, then gain momentum waiting for her partner to return before she would take flight and execute the huricanrana. It wasn’t as flawless as Salem’s, but at certain points when she thought she was messing it up she would remind Salem’s pointers and recover. Once she was done with the move Anne took a breather. “I think I got most of it. I will need to practice it a lot to execute it seamlessly, you think we could practice it for a while before moving on to something else?” Anne felt a little bad about asking to focus on herself for the training, but seeing how the morning had developed she was ok with pushing her luck a little.

[Galactic Thing]

Salem gave what pointers she could, but verbally explaining the intricacies and tips on something like a hurricana could only do so much. So, she was more than excited to allow Anne the opportunity to do it herself! With a quick nod and Anne's hand on her arm, Salem was sent to the ropes. She did her best to make her line of travel as straight as she could to make it easier. Anne lifts off, not gaining as much air but it was a given considering she didn't do this sort of thing often. Her thighs wrapped around the pink haired woman's head, sending her to the ground.

After Anne let her go, Salem would sit up pretty quickly, only a tad dizzy. "That was pretty good considering you don't do those types of moves!" she praises Anne's efforts, "Try to focus on getting up further first, it makes the rest much easier!" With enthusiasm, she gets back to her feet ready to go again. "Of course, let's do this as long as you want! I never expected to be able to give you advice, but I'll take the opportunity."

Shuffling forward and offering her arm to Anne, she'd smirk, "Let's keep this up until you feel more comfortable with it. Trust me, I can take it!" Salem wanted to help Anne as much as she could, partially to be a good training partner but also to pay her back for the tour guide role she played earlier.

[Galahad]

Salem proved being a more than proficient partner in explaining the intricacies and secrets behind moves like the huricanrana, but once the theory was thoroughly explained they had to put it to a test or it would all be for nothing. Anne knew this and that was exactly why she asked Salem not only to teach her but to be her training partner that morning and help with the correct execution of the move. Seeing the pink-haired woman offering her arm, and mostly the woman’s positive disposition towards Anne’s training brought a smile to the redhead, who was starting to really like that one’s bright personality. “Alright, let’s do this!”, she would heratily say before going for another try at the huricanrana.

What came was a not so long training session but an intense one. For some minutes Salem assisted Anne in learning how to properly execute the huricanrana. At first the redhead’s movements were a little sluggish but as time passed and with each consecutive try she started becoming more and more comfortable with the move, maybe to the point of adding it to her roster. “Phew! You know what? I think I got it!”, she said to Salem while huffing and puffing, the exertion of the training session taking its toll. “The huricanrana is great but you know what I think? Look” Anne got Salem’s arm as if she was going to whip her against the ropes, then started making feign, slow exaggerated moves to illustrate her point: “Post-whip maneuvers tend to go overhead: lariat, clothesline, big boot, even the huricanrana. I think that most rivals expect something big to come against their chest after being whipped, but if you mix things up then you become unpredictable, uncounterable! Now I’m going to whip you and got at your legs, go along with the flow!” Saying this, Anne launched Salem against the mat and let her build some momentum before going to the mat and wrapping her legs against Salem’s to make her fall forwards in a drop toehold. “Not bad right? I think that mixing your moveset with something like this makes you way harder to read and can catch by surprise a rival expecting a strike to the chest.”, finished Anne while letting Salem go so she could stand, a little proud of her little move now that it was her the one teaching the pinkette without even thinking that she could know that move beforehand.

[Galactic Thing]

It'd been quite some time since Salem had been in the instructor position, so she definitely had to dust off some of the cobwebs. However, Anne was not only a quick learner but an extensive on, making sure she had all the information she needed to continue improving. And the Shooting Star was more than willing to impart as much as she could, providing the seemingly more experienced woman all she needed. The thrill of teaching of her all about a move that was so close to her heart was a warming feeling again, just as much as it was having her land the final one: easily her cleanest and almost as swift as Salem's one hurricana!

Laying on the canvas for a moment after, Salem would recover herself, much less her breath...but her head. It turns out, taking a dozen and a handful hurricanas was enough to really make someone dizzy. It didn't last too long though, and the pink haired instructor would shoot up hearing Anne begin her thought. She listened closely, wondering what the other woman had up in her cranium and was looking to explore further. "Oh, yeah sure! I see what you mean...let's do this!"

Salem went along, trusted Anne and acted like she was helpless as she came back so it would easier to demonstrate. Getting essentially tripped by the impressive legwork, Salem would lift herself off the canvas to see Anne having a loose framework of a drop toehold! The Shooting Star's eyes widened, not in shock or anything negative, but more similarly to a eureka moment. She had thought about using more ground-centric holds, but couldn't figure out any that didn't involve using brute strength that she didn't possess. Anne connected the dots for her though: the separate pieces of the whip and the toehold coming together to form a combination she never thought about! Hopping to her feet with another, more fresh wave of excitement, Salem looked to Anne with bright and big eyes. "Yes, that's perfect! I've never really thought about doing something like that...could I try it on you for some practice Anne? Please?" she essentially pleaded with her training partner, for some reason unsure if she would accept.

[Galahad]

It may be true that Anne was Salem’s senior in the league, but the redhead had to admit that among even the less veteran of LAW prospects she was the one with less experience no matter how she had been working for the league for months now. Therefore and despite how well Anne’s career was going she could still feel a looming feeling of imposter’s syndrome now and then when doing certain things. Anne felt really comfortable at that moment, when she had found a pretty cool sparring partner who was willing to share her insight and knowledge, but when it was time for her to show what she knew the redhead felt a little paralyzed at first. Salem looked pretty competent and with a good share of experience, what could Anne teach her?

In the end Anne’s hesitance and doubts were unfounded since the technique and strategy behind her drop toehold trick was pretty well received by Salem who looked honestly surprised and happy to learn something new from Anne. The Phoenix let out a mental sigh of relief as she was accepted by Salem and she quickly went to overexplain the thought behind the move. “You know, after some weeks wrestling for LAW I noticed that somehow I was becoming predictable at certain times and some rival who had done their homework knew what to expect from me when certain triggers happened, like a whipping situation for example, so I started thinking how I could mix my style up to make it more difficult for rivals to read my upcoming moves and that’s how I reached this move. Now after whipping someone against the ropes they don’t really know what I am going to do and that gives me an edge...” Anne giggled, proud of herself and happy about Salem being willing to train more without realizing how the pinkette was asking to practice the move. “Of course! After all you helped me I can only do the same!”, she said while offering Salem her arm. “I'm ready. Whip me girl!”

[Galactic Thing]

Learning and teaching Anne as much as she could would bring out that wondrous and bursting Salem that she had gotten peaks at during the tour and before their training session began. When the Shooting Star was in her element, it was clear that she was as bright as her name suggested, even more so when she got to show off her own specialty. As a student though, she was far more patient, waiting for Anne to thoroughly explain the reasons for the drop toehold before even suggesting they practice it. Giddy at Anne's acceptance, they would begin to practice over the next 15 minutes or so. This sort of move was quite the opposite of Salem's normal repertoire, focusing more on technical brilliance than flashy and dynamic excellence.

Eventually though, she'd get the hang of it, catching her breath after a rather swift execution of the move. It was far from perfect, but serviceable considering where she started. "Huff...wow! Ok, I think that's good, let's take 5 for a minute..."

The pair would break, and continue their training session together as a unit. Two seemingly separate skillsets and areas of experience, both melding together to improve the other. Through her insistence and Anne's eventual acceptance, would teach her one specific move which would encompass the rest of their time together, at least from Salem's end. Demonstrating the move, she would whip Anne to the ropes, maintaining a wider stance in the center until she starts to come back. Dashing to meet her halfway, the Shooting Star would go into a handstand, snatching her head between her thighs that shoot up! Holding it gently, she'd explain as she was upside down, "F-From here...I could go for a hurricana, keep the squeeze on, or even slam you down in almost like I was completing a full flip!" If Anne wanted after Salem let go, they would train this move, Salem giving her as many tries as she desired. She didn't quite show her the pinnacle of what she could do, but Salem herself wasn't entirely confident yet as she felt a bit rusty on those moves.

[Galahad]

For some more time Anne helped Salem practice the drop toehold until the woman mastered it. Anne had to admit that Salem’s diligence in learning her moves was not only admirable but inspiring, pushing the redhead to try her best as well. After some minutes Salem was puffing and the two of them agreed on taking some minutes of rest. They spent that time discussing moves and strategies and Anne could only awe at how Salem looked like a repository of wrestling knowledge. Of course the Phoenix could add some insight thanks to her past matches in LAW, but the pinkette was someone who had been into the wrestling world for way longer than her and it showed so the Phoenix did everything she could to learn from someone who was that positive about sharing insights and knowledge.

After their rest both women resumed their training once again. Now Salem was showing Anne some move that in a way showcased all the skills they had been practicing for all morning, showing Salem’s resourcefulness as she was capable of explaining the move while actually maintaining a handstand and Anne’s legs between her thighs! Offering the redhead to practice some more she accepted. “Yeah, I don’t know if I’m gonna get it right but let’s try!” Some more minutes passed and Anne did her best to mimic the moves Salem had shown her, but at first she struggled a little with her balance to maintain the handstand. Her training partner was understanding and a great teacher and it showed in how she always had a proper advice for the redhead until she had the movements under control.

Breaking the last of the holds, Anne huffed starting to get really exhausted. “That was something else, I’m spent...” She had a look at one of the clocks on the walls of the room and noticed how they had been practicing and discussing wrestling strategies for most of the morning. “Wow look at that, time flies! I don’t think I can take more of this training, but it was great. Thank you Salem, you’ve been a great teacher.” Anne thought of shaking Salem’s hand but it seemed too formal so she went for a friendly hug. “You know what? I’m going to hit this place, so close from the gym I can walk there. Best sandwiches you can have, veggie options… why don’t you join me for lunch? Let's hit the showers and go for a good meal.”

[Galactic Thing]

With Salem's training done, it was Anne's turn. She had to admit that this was definitely going to be a test for her partner, but she had the confidence that it would be a good move to try and teach her. The results spoke true of her wishes, and Anne would continue to absolutely wow her with every increasingly successful attempt. Granted, progress was slow for the physically intense move, but for someone who hated aerial moves it was much faster than expected! It wasn't perfect, but for an end of session move she did well enough to possibly even add it to her repertoire in the future.

By the end of it, Salem was sweating like crazy, and Anne was just as tired. Looking to her, she smiled fondly at the woman she was growing to respect more and more throughout the day, ""Yeah...that's enough training...wow!" she exclaimed at the end, both surprised at how long they'd both spent in the gym and how intense that training ended up being. "Oh don't thank me, it's what I did back at my old org, helping newer wrestlers and all that. It's only natural I was able to teach you something, especially since my style is exactly what you don't do!" Salem took the compliment with a glance, not entirely taking credit.

However, her look of humility would shift at the mention of getting food. Salem didn't quite expect to stay here nearly as she did, so she didn't pack anything heavy to eat. Looking at Anne with an eager smile, it was like all the exhaustion had left her expression entirely. She shot up to her feet in a flash, and shuffled forward and hugged her training partner tight. "Yes please! I didn't quite pack enough for something like this...wanna meet back here in 15?" she asked, although she was already heading to the showers.

[Galahad]

Salem and Anne’s training session had been quite complete and also took its fair share of energy, so in some way the redhead was relieved after noticing how Salem felt the same and agreed on putting an end to it now that both of them had gone over many moves. It had been a more than productive day for her, moreso if one thought that Anne was direcly coming from a match only two nights before, so a good rest was well deserved. As Anne supported herself on her knees while huffing and puffing she heard Salem mentioning how in her previous organization she was known for helping people out. The woman coming from another wrestling division was obvious once one saw how she conducted herself in a ring, someone with that knowledge must have lots of experience, and in some way even if Anne didn’t know Salem that much she could picture that woman teaching others with good will. “I can picture that. Teaching suits you somehow, huh.”

All the exhaustion Salem projected faded instantly and transformed into enthusiasm just after Anne mentioned going out for lunch. It looked like the pinkette had way more energy than one could expect, and surely more than Anne who was exhausted after the training session. “Yeah, let’s meet up back at the entr...” Anne realized that Salem was happily prancing towards the showers already, so she decided to let her her space and go for a shower herself, getting rid of most of the strain in her body as she was getting ready for a change of pace in their encounter.

----------------------------15 minutes later------------------------------

Anne was just coming back to the main entrance to the gym, getting some much needed rest in one of the couches while waiting until she could see Salem appear from the hallway. “Shall we go? I hope you’re ready for the best sandwiches in town...”

[Galactic Thing]

Salem came out of the showers, freshly changed into a tight fitting black shirt with a few star littered across the front. Along with some shorter jean shorts and white sneakers she had on earlier, she looked a lot more refreshed than she did when she entered the showers. Despite the fact she seemed to have endless energy, the exhaustion all seemed to catch up to her in there. But, now there was the blissful future of food in front of here, something her training partner reminded her of.

Adjusting her wet bobcut, she looked across the gym and joined Anne at the entrance. "Yes! I'm more than ready! These sandwiches better be as good as you say...or we're practing moonsaults next!", she said excitedly, giggling at her own little joking wager. The bright and light woman was practically starving, and despite wanting more time in the shower, her stomach currently held the steering wheel in regards to her decision making.

The pair would start to make their way out of the gym, and soon enough the arena itself. Out into the streets of the city, a place that Salem had regrettably not spent a lot of time recently. "You know..." she started, eyes looking around at the surrounding buildings she still only barely recognized, "I've still gotta look around modt of this place. Would you be interested in being my tour guide again some time?"