Divine Guidance

[BlackAkuma]

Divine was far past the point where she could be considered a ‘young woman’, but god, she wasn’t old enough that she should be getting nostalgic, was she? And yet, here she was, pining for the good old days like some aging grandma on her front porch. It was more than a little silly, and she blamed Aroha - the woman’s youthful energy was throwing her in a time warp. Simpler times, simpler days…

She was ready to drop the subject, no sense in talking about old news when the young woman in front of her was infinitely more intriguing, but Aroha’s eager expression brought her back. ”Oh, you poor thing, you know not what you ask.” She polished off her drink, needing all the liquid courage she could muster.

”We were the Valkyries.” God, the name always sounded so silly when she said it out loud, she had to laugh even now. ”A motorcycle gang, all-female, small-time. We hung out all day, got into trouble, tuned up our rides. Really just an excuse for friends to hang out together and drive around, but we had fun. Then our leader got us into wrestling, and-”

She snapped her fingers and pointed Aroha’s way. ”That is right, I forgot to mention - I’m with LAW, too.” She leaned over with a playful wink. ”The brought me on for some oil matches. I’m guessing they had similar thoughts with you.”

[HotWheels]

Aroha supposed she did not know what she asked. Well, she knew what she asked, but she didn't know the result of what she had asked. But then, that was also the point of asking. She imagined she was overthinking this expression she hadn't heard. Taking a cue from Divine, she took a big sip of her own nonalcoholic drink, figuring there was some sort of tradition she might have been missing if she didn't partake, too. By the time she had lowered the glass again, she was giddy with expectation as Divine began.

"Valkyries...", she repeated, dreamily, as she settled in with her cheeks resting on her fists to listen to the story. Valkyries Valkyries. She had heard that term before. Her forgetfulness - was that some sort of winged angel kind of thing? - didn't stop her from enjoying the sound of their title and believing that it suited any group that involved someone named Divine. And they were a motorcycle gang! They had those back home and in Australia. While she knew a motorcycle gang could also be tough and intimidate people, Divine's involvement in that sort of gang made so much more sense.

And it made good sense, too, that they used that tough and intimidating reputation to become wrestlers. It was already on the tip of the Maori beauty's tongue to ask if Divine had any involvement with LAW, too, when the other woman beat her to it. She tore into an open-mouthed smile. "That's perfect! I walk around and don't know anyone. And now I do."

She did think Divine had one thing wrong, however, thanks to her too-literal knowledge of English and lack of ability to read between the lines. She tapped a finger to her chin. "I don't think they wanted me for oil matches, though. Mud matches and regular matches. That's what they said."

[BlackAkuma]

Talking about her gang was more relaxing than Divine imagined - dare she say, ‘therapeutic’. It was a chapter of her life that she thought closed, and as a general rule, she didn’t like going back over old chapters in a book, be it metaphorical or literal. But she hadn't talked about them in a long while, possibly the first time to someone who wasn’t in the gang. It was a fun little detour down memory lane.

”And now you do.” She nodded with a slim smile. ”I’m-”

Divine had been so wrapped up talking to Aroha that she’d lost track of the mud wrestling going on before them, so when the bell rang and signified the end of the match, she jumped with mild surprise and brought her focus back to it, just in time to see the referee raising the winner’s hand. She joined the audience for a round of mild applause for the victor, as she and her dejected opponent stumbled their way. The two began drying themselves off as the crowd dispersed. From the looks of things, the club was trying to wrap up for the night.

Divine gave the wrestlers a final, intrigued glance, then brought her full attention back to Aroha, absorbing her last words. Her first impulse was to throw out a smartass response, but she bit it back, not wanting to insult the girl over a simple mistake. Besides, she likely wouldn’t have gotten it.

”Oh, I don’t doubt that’s what they said. Plans can change, though. They’re always looking to put people in new situations.” She leaned forward and tapped her chin, contemplating, as the seed of an idea took root and began to grow. ”If they asked you to do an oil match, would you be willing? Give it a shot?”

[HotWheels]

Aroha, too, had forgotten about the match. Divine had her mind completely observed with her story, and frankly, with the fun of looking at her and listening to her. She whirled to congratulate the mud match winner, almost tempted to be quite loud as she would have back home. When she realized the appreciation was generally more reserved, she held herself back and offered her own applause, too, like the rest of the room. She was only mildly jealous watching them get out of the pool, wishing she could be the next one in and have people cheering for her. Because, naturally, she would win. They had been good but not great mud wrestlers competing all night.

After a wistful sigh, her attention went back to Divine, who seemed to be thinking of something - that chin tap made for universal language. Aroha had nearly asked her if she were thinking about a "new situation," like trying one of the mud matches herself, when the woman caught her off-guard with her question. Aroha blinked, clearly doing her own pondering. The idea of the oil smeared on her gave her pause as it had earlier in the conversation, but it was the briefest pause. There were few things she wouldn't do if it provided a new opportunity, least of all something that involved a chance to wrestle.

"Oh yes. Can't think of anything I wouldn't try once." That was mostly because she didn't know enough of most other cultures to be aware of something she wouldn't try though, she supposed. Though one they had talked about earlier would probably be a no. "Maybe not the oil in mud. But that's because it's a really bad idea." She grinned.

[BlackAkuma]

Divine suspected she knew the answer before Aroha even gave it. The woman was the adventurous open type, willing to risk it all on a bold chance, and she found it incredibly endearing…if a little worrying, too. While she had no qualms with LAW management and their penchant for wilder matches, she knew they sometimes like to take fresher talent and ‘break them in’, feeding them to their monster of the week in some insane bout.

Maybe not. Maybe they would do right by her. It was always a roll of the dice, which she was not wholly comfortable with.

”True. But an idea being obviously bad won’t stop someone from doing it, eventually. LAW loves to experiment.” Divine’s brought her hand up the bar and daintily finger-walked along the edge of the bar, strolling along until it came close to her new found acquaintance’s arm. It paused there, as if waiting for permission to hop on.

”So I need a debut match. And you need a debut match. Why don’t we scratch each others’ backs?” She canted her head to the side, a tilt of a few degrees. ”One mud match for you. One oil match for me. Dip our toes into new worlds.”

[HotWheels]

Aroha all but missed what Divine said about LAW's experimenting, watching the woman's hand "walking" across the bar. It probably fascinated her more than it ought - they were just fingers, but she hadn't thought about making them look like legs before. What she didn't know was what that gesture meant or what Divine meant to do with that hand, and Aroha peered at it with barely contained confusion before her eyes lifted into the woman's face again. Oh... oh! Was this a proposition? She couldn't decide if she anticipated a sexy one, or a-

Or a... backscratch? Aroha assumed that was what the hand was for and peered at it again before she put together the westernism. Right. She took a sip to celebrate her figuring it out and hide any further confusion. They would scratch each other's backs because they- She let her analysis fall by the wayside since the idea itself had her lighting up like a Pohutukawa tree dressed for Christmas. She couldn't nod her head quickly or vehemently enough, nearly losing her sip of drink in the process.

"Ohhh you- if you would get in one muddy pool with me, I would oil myself up ten times for you!" It was an exaggeration, yes, but she assumed it would be clear enough. She grasped at the hand that had walked toward her, giving it a squeeze and a shake. "Who do we tell? I'm ready anytime!"

[BlackAkuma]

Dear God. Divine had known sexy women and she’d known funny women, but she could not remember meeting someone who was so much of both without even trying to be. If Aroha ever grew aware of the effect she was having on the world around here, she would be dangerous.

It took a strong, concerted effort for her not to bust out laughing when the woman grabbed her prowling hand, utterly wasting her efforts at sly seduction with a strong shake. She managed to keep it down to a well-meaning smile, glad her offer was accepted. ”I’ll hold you to those other nine times. But just once is good for now, don’t worry.” She returned the shake. ”It will be soon, leave the details to me. I can be quite persuasive.”

Divine stood up, straightened out, and stretched, letting out a purring moan as her aging bones creaked. Her butt wasn’t made for sitting down for long periods of time, at least not on a seat that wasn’t vibrating. She was just about ready to part ways, when a thought occurred. ”Say, do you have a ride home?”

[HotWheels]

Aroha continued her vehement nodding, but it was in agreement to Divine’s assurance that she would be persuasive and would have their matches set up in no time. “I don’t doubt it,” she rang, echoing those same thoughts. “This is going to be great!”

Admittedly, Aroha didn’t know what would come of her early matches in LAW; she wasn’t so naive not to know that plenty of people here would be looking to beat her down, fun optional. She had seen plenty of those people in LAW videos before, and she would be meeting many of those same wrestlers. While she believed she had the advantage in any muddy pool, she anticipated violence.

To have someone she had met lined up to wrestle her first? That couldn’t have appealed to her more. She was almost bouncing in place by the time Divine was up and stretching beside her, but she knew she shouldn’t get so excited yet - this would be a few days off even at best. And she had to prepare; moving was exhausting. She had barely had any time to run, to climb, to do anything to keep herself fit and prepared for a match. She mentally started planning her coming days when Divine’s question broke through her thoughts.

She blinked for a second, then shook her head. “Oh, no. I just walk everywhere. It’s such a big place, but it’s weirdly small at the same time, you know?” She was aware it was something to do with the amount of people and the limited space in Japan, so neighborhoods were tightly packed. Even the cheap place she had managed to find with a small garden view wasn’t too far from LAW, though she didn’t realize a thirty minute walk wasn’t typical for most in the city.

“And I don’t know how to drive…”

[BlackAkuma]

Youthful enthusiasm. A rare and refreshing thing. Divine thought back to her earlier days in wrestling, back when she was still getting her feel for the business. Thankfully, she’d had the Valkyries at her back to help keep her safe and watch her - in fact, more often than not, she’d been the one causing the danger for other wrestlers, not the one facing it. Not a detail she was proud of, but not something she was ashamed of, either - it had just been the way things were. Another lifetime, another world.

Now, here, Aroha had stepped into the same world, who was still pure. That wouldn’t last forever, but Divine was happy to preserve it for longer than it might’ve otherwise, as if the islander was some rare, beautiful flower she needed to preserve.

A good start to that would be making sure she actually survived the city, hence her worrying about the walk home. Tokyo was a safer city than most, but even it had its darker areas, and foreigners stood out like sore thumbs. The area around LAW was notorious for scam artists and pickpockets, predators just waiting to take advantage of clueless tourist lost in the maze. Maybe Aroha would be fine, maybe this wasn’t her night, but still…

”Let me take you home, then. ”A quick little ride.” It was meant as a suggestion, but there was no hiding the quiet insistence. She held up a finger, remembering an important detail. ”Have you ever ridden a motorcycle before?”

Divine was about 99.999999% sure she knew the answer to that question, but there was no harm in asking to make it 100%.

[HotWheels]

She supposed she should have expected Divine's... offer? It sounded a little more like an order. The surprise still flitted through her eyes, however. Aroha didn't actually like riding all that much, but she wouldn't be so rude as to turn down what she realized most people deemed a kindness of convenience. She opened her mouth to agree when Divine's question made her jaw drop to the floor. “A motorcycle!?" She brought both hands up to her cheeks in her excitement. Right... right. She said it as if they hadn't just discussed the matter of her motorcycle gang. Admittedly, she hadn't put it together that quickly that she likely still drove one, but it only made sense.

She slowly shook her head. "No... no! But I would like to. I would really like to." This was a totally different matter compared to the idea of riding in some closed-in vehicle. She had seen people on motorcycles, and it seemed so... freeing. So much wind. So much of a rush of speed. She badly wanted to have a chance to ride one at some point in her life, and Divine was offering her that chance. The smallest inkling of her flying off the back of said motorcycle tried to wriggle into her thoughts, but she cast it away as quickly as it had come. She gazed at Divine as if she held the key to all the happiness in the rest of her life. "Could we?"