Safiyah Neferet vs. Aspasia El-Shenawy - Dance of the Serpents

[BlackAkuma]

Asp really had to thank Sophia the next time she had a chance. Though her friend would never have dreamed of being in a match like this on her wildest day, their training had improved the Water Serpent’s basic ring skills immensely, to a point where she felt much confident in her technical abilities. This was the result showing in action - Asp remained aware of her position in regards to her opponent, kept the rules in mind, and was able to turn the tide once a single opportunity presented itself.

It wasn’t a knock against Safiyah’s prowess - in fact, if the tables had been turned, she was willing to wager that she, herself, would’ve fallen for the same trick. It was too easy for women like them to get lost in the sensuality of the moment, and while Asp knew little of her opponent’s background, she was willing to bet that she was no stranger to moments like this. That it was a common occurrence. Perhaps too common.

Some younger referees might have been caught off guard by the sudden change, but thankfully for Asp, theirs was one of the more experienced ones. Enough so that she didn’t hesitate when the shoulders came to the mat and effortlessly moved into position, putting Safiyah into the panicked mode she required.

The first count went well enough, and even gave Asp a surprising bonus - the foot against her crotch gave her a wild burst of pleasure, one that she would surely miss.

The second count was more interesting. For a moment, Asp thought she would genuinely score the pinfall - it wouldn’t be enough to win, she would still need to make Safiyah orgasm, but it would be the harder part of this match done long before she had anticipated it would be.

Alas, it was not to be, but Asp got the result she ultimately needed - she was let go, the two of them parted ways, and she was allowed a reprieve. [“We did. And do.”] She wiped her chin clean as she rose back up to her feet and retook her stance. [“Absence makes the heart grow fonder. You will see.”]

With that promise, Asp looked to re-engage, though she did so slowly. Her body was still feeling the effects of the hold, and she wasn’t in a state to push herself just yet. Still, she knew better than to give Safiyah free reign, and sought to keep her at a distance with quick kicks aimed at her shin, lashing out whenever the woman got too close, attempting to force her into a substantial move.

[Lightman]

Safiyah took a slow breath as she pushed herself up, her body glistening under the lights, still thrumming with the residual pulse of their last exchange. That had been close. Too close.

Her heterochromatic eyes flickered with something dangerous, something hungry, as she studied Asp, who had already risen, regained her stance, already begun her next plan of attack. Although this ended way too quickly, just when she finally had the advantage, Safiyah could not deny the cleverness in Asp’s manoeuvre. Few could have broken out of her coils so cleanly, let alone turned it into a genuine attempt to steal a fall from her.

The momentary pin attempt had been a surprise, yes, but it had only served to remind her of one thing—Asp was not to be underestimated. The Water Serpent had slipped free, used the moment to break their entanglement, and now stood before her, ready to strike again.

This is still fine. She can recover from this.

Asp was smart to keep her distance. She had felt the strength in Safiyah’s holds, particularly her legs, the lethal precision behind every touch. Now, she was testing her, measuring the distance with flicking, snapping kicks aimed at her shin, forcing her to react. The Water Serpent was playing wisely—staying mobile, keeping her from closing in, wearing her down bit by bit.

The Azure Cobra absorbed the first few kicks, letting them glance off her legs, rolling with the impact rather than trying to check them. It seems odd to let herself get teed off here, but the bluenette was observing Asp, noting the rhythm of her strikes, the pattern of her footwork. Asp was moving well, but Safiyah could see it—the subtle way she was favouring one side more than the other, the momentary pauses between attacks. Something Reiko mentioned in her first lesson. Might as well put it to great use.

[“Hesitation only makes the fall sweeter.”] A different philosophy, one that ruled within the Azure Cobra.

Asp flicked out another kick, but this time, Safiyah would move. She swung her leg low as if she was going for her own kick to the legs, only for Asp’s kick to force the darker-skinned leg to carry on its trajectory. A silly, rookie mistake, at first glance.

That was until she carried on the momentum, twirling around on the ball of her foot, as that same leg lashed out once it completed the cycle, only that she went higher this time. The tanned leg moved like a whip, aiming to nail the redhead right on the side of her head.

[BlackAkuma]

The kicks weren’t simply meant to peck away at Safiya and keep her at a distance - no, Asp was recovering, too. That bodyscissor and choking combination had worn her out far more than she would’ve liked to admit, and she swore she could still feel her opponent’s legs around her waist, a phantom sensation that refused to abate. Little kicks like this cost her little energy, allowing her stamina to return and her breathing to normalize.

But, as prudent as this was, Safiyah had a point with her little taunt - it couldn't last forever. Asp could already see it in her foe’s mesmerizing eyes, analyzing her and calculating, no doubt preparing some subtle trick to regain control of the match. This woman was playful but tricky. Dangerous. Something was coming, and soon.

Ignore the words. Focus on the movements.

Safiyah came out with a kick of her own, but it seemed poorly time, as it met with Asp’s own and was sent away - or so she thought at first glance. On closer inspection, however, there was a practiced grace in the way her opponent moved, a purpose to it, and the hallmarks of intent, as if her body was winding up for something much more dangerous to do with those legs.

Whatever it was, Asp wanted not part of it. As Safiyah spun about, she went low, dropping into a deep crouch as her suspicious were confirmed - a kick that would’ve beheaded her passed by overhead, moving through the air so fast that she could hear the wind being sliced. She’d not only done well to avoid it, but doing so put her in a prime position, at Safiyah’s back for a golden moment. Too good to pass up.

Asp leaped straight up out of her crouch, springing high like their striking namesake. Her legs shot out and wrapped around her opponent’s head, as she came to sit on her shoulders for a single instant. The Water Serpent leaned forward, just enough to plant a quick kiss on the woman’s forehead, before she threw her body back all at once, yanked her opponent’s head along with her, and attempted to spike her skull on the canvas with a fierce poisoned ‘rana.

[Lightman]

Safiyah’s body moved with precision, every strike a measured calculation, every step a deliberate choice. She could see Asp’s strategy unfold in real time—the cautious, tactical use of energy-conserving kicks, the way she allowed herself space to recover while keeping Safiyah at bay. Banking it for the future, where the damage would be more pronounced. It was intelligent, undeniably so, but also predictable. If Asp thinks she has things under control, then so be it. Then the fall comes.

She had feigned a kick, had let Asp believe for a moment that she had intercepted it, had let her think she had successfully deflected the incoming assault. But Safiyah was not so easily dissuaded. She wouldn’t have struck without reason. That first kick had been a mere whisper of movement, a breath before the storm. Her real intent was coiling beneath the surface, waiting, winding her body up for something deadly.

And Asp knew it.

Safiyah could see it in the subtle twitch of her muscles, the way she dropped low in anticipation of a strike she had not yet thrown. A sharp, knowing smirk flickered across Safiyah’s lips. She liked this. The tension, the chase, the moments of breathless anticipation before an explosion of movement. Then she moved.

Her foot cut through the air in a vicious, decapitating arc—but Asp was gone. A flicker of surprise flashed in Safiyah’s gold and sapphire eyes as her opponent ducked, her body folding into a deep crouch. The kick sliced through empty space, a moment too late, the wind whipping past in a fierce rush. Fast. Asp had read her. Had seen the strike coming before it even began. To be fair, it was a similar strike from the beginning of the match. Wasn’t the most unpredictable, coming from a snake.

And then—she was gone.

Asp sprang upward, her body unfurling like a striking viper, launching herself with a terrifying speed that even Safiyah had not fully expected. In a blur, legs wrapped around her head, thighs clamping down with a vice-like grip.

A sharp inhale.

A flicker of movement.

A kiss.

Soft. A mere ghost of lips against her forehead.

And then the fall.

The moment Asp’s legs clamped around her head, Safiyah knew she had been baited. The Water Serpent had played her role to perfection—patient, elusive, striking only when the moment was just right. And now, as she felt the sudden shift in weight, the forward lean of her opponent, the teasing whisper of lips against her forehead, she understood exactly what was coming.

But understanding was not the same as stopping.

In that fraction of a second, before gravity dictated its will, Safiyah’s instincts took hold. A poisonrana was a move meant to drive its victim’s skull mercilessly into the mat, a devastating manoeuvre that could change the tide of any battle in an instant. Lesser opponents would have been caught by that. But Safiyah was not just any opponent. Years of gymnastics trained the body to react even as her body tilted backwards.

It was the same way the Azure Cobra used when it came to the dragon screw. Rather than resist the motion, she flowed with it, using Asp’s momentum. Before her skull slammed against the mat with a sickening force, both of her palms pressed onto the mat, creating a good base for the bluenette and something to take the brunt of the impact. Turning the violent impact into a controlled tumble, her body coiling like a serpent refusing to be tamed before slipping out with a handspring, flipping away from the Water Serpent’s coils. Landing on her feet, Safiyah flicked her hair back with a flourish of the hand, making that whole affair look easier than it was.

["I didn't mean that fall, habibti."]