Reluctant Reunion: Elaine Auclair Vs Van Arkride

[Cosmos]

The mystery of Van's sudden disappearance nagged at her persistently through intrusive thoughts, but it wasn't necessarily the intrigue that bothered Elaine so much. What really lived rent free in her head was the pain she endured and still carried to this day, and stung harder than any slam Van delivered or any hold he trapped her in. Had she said something out of line that had prompted him to leave? Was he in some kind of personal danger? If so, why couldn't he trust her enough to let her know and help him through it? To just up and vanish like that...it felt like a betrayal of everything the pair stood for. Well, she wasn't going to let him get away this time. Not without giving her some answers. Not without finally clearing up the doubts that had plagued her since the very day she had last laid eyes upon him. A girl's broken heart could be a stubborn thing to get rid of, and Van was long overdue for an encounter with the consequences of his actions. No amount of free cocktails was going to get him out of that. If Elaine were more vindictive, she'd even consider getting him to pay for the most expensive drink on the menu as an apology.

"Hmm, I certainly hope it isn't some underground den filled with all kinds of debauchery. Even back in school, you had a...habit of exploring places that weren't appropriate for a student." Her suspicious gaze returned as she peered down at Van, now the one straddling him on top. Having such a muscular stud pinned under you was more than a little exhilarating, even if it was your ex. It certainly brought back memories of...more risque times between them. "And you're not in the clear yet, Van. Any shake you indulge in is only going to have one straw in it." A stern look on her face as she reminded him that no matter how much confectionery he consumed, the spriggan couldn't talk his way out of this that easily. Or roll his way out of it, as he was attempting to do so now. The clash between the grappling pair soon brought them to the ropes, where the struggle threatened to roll them out under the ropes to the outside of the ring. Van, catching on first, purposefully made sure to protect Elaine from injury, as his back struck the ground. The blue haired merc forced to release her as he flinched.

"I appreciate the gentlemanly gesture, Van." Elaine remained atop him briefly, a little flattered that he had shielded her from harm. But even so...she began to rise up off him and step back onto the ring apron. Slipping through the ropes as she kept her eyes on him all the while. "Yet I'll remind you that this is wrestling, first and foremost. Sacrificing your spine for me isn't going to dissuade me from making an assault on you." To prove she wasn't just bluffing with her words, Elaine pressed her back into the ropes, and allowed her body to spring forward. Sprinting full pelt to the other side where the spriggan was now standing, Elaine would attempt to dive through the ropes and slam her shoulder into Van's chiselled abs for a spear that would slam him between her and the barricade behind him!

[killcarrion]

Even though Van had never considered himself to be a rampant womanizer by any stretch of the imagination back in his high school days, whenever he was strolling down the hallways with Rene on their way to class, his friend on occasion went outta his way to direct Van's attention to some schoolgirls sheepishly giggling from behind a corner before ducking back out of sight. The mercenary unintentionally becoming an object of infatuation by fellow classmates and even underclass women by no means of his own. Possibly a byproduct of the student body learning about his sympathetic backstory through the typical gossip channels and his overall bad boy demeanor capturing the impassioned imaginations of other girls fantasizing about riding with him on a motorcycle though the cityscape or envisioning themselves as the one who could assuredly "fix him". Rene even joking that Van was a shoe-in to be voted "Guaranteed To Break Hearts" in the yearbook...of course that was meant to be in jest, but actually causing some traumatic heartbreak wasn't quite the laughing matter anymore after he'd perpetrated such an act upon Elaine. Even a hardened mercenary jaded to the innate cruelty of the world would rather not imagine what Lainey went through the night she found his handwritten letter, and it was nevertheless his cross to bear...but he was at the very least grateful they'd gotten back to the point of at least being able to chatter about pastry delights like the old days.

"...*sigh*...Why do you always have to imagine me as some rebellious degenerate? The place I'm talking about is as classy as you can get in this neighborhood, and 'bout the only thing dangerous about it is having to avoid the flirtatious winks from the bartender..." Van remarked with a sighed breath as he continued dialoguing with the former class president who always thought the worst of him, continuing to take in Elaine's svelte softness and what he still swears is a faint aroma of pastries that may very well be her own nostalgic musk in the contentious bearhugs ratcheted up into a sweat slicked grind. Van was glad he wasn't the only one being reminded of late-night expressions of youthful exuberance~...they just didn't entail being chucked underneath some ring ropes into a plummetous collapse. Basic protective instincts automatically kicking in as he protected Elaine as best he could to a smacked thud onto the thinned matting outside, stinking his spine something awful as he glowered and relented on the bearhug. Arising underneath his own cognizance but at a stilted pace and no earthly idea where Lainey had gotten to until she'd come careening straight towards him in a suicide dive tackled into him, barreling him back with arms slacked over the barricade behind him in a winded daze. "GAH!!!...Sheesh, Elaine, that's the last time I do you a favor...S'not very noble to blindside the valiant knight who rescued you, ya know..." Van griped as he massaged the back of his head...

[Cosmos]

Van was usually a little ignorant when it came to his popularity with the female species. Elaine, being a woman herself, naturally picked up on it right away. Her first meeting with the spriggan when they were children had been innocent enough, merely bonding over their shared status as kids along with Rene. But as the years went by, she found herself uncharacteristically drawn to Van, spending more and more time in his company despite the disapproval of her father. Who had warned her on several occasions that no good could come of associating with a mere 'street rat' like Van Arkride. That was probably the first time she had ever truly felt angry. The only other time she felt such fury was when Van had left that handwritten note for her...along with betrayal and heartbreak. Plenty of the male student body had openly wondered aloud how the blue haired rebel could just abandon a girl who was an 11 out of 10 in their eyes. Such remarks were swiftly silenced from the intimidating death glare that Elaine shot in their direction. Although perhaps it was better they gossiped openly in front of her where she could confront it, in comparison to hushed whispers being held behind her back...

"You don't exactly give me much reason to think of you as anything else, Van." Elaine pointed out in response. Having driven the spriggan right back into the barricade behind him, Elaine's suicide dive was cushioned against her opponent's muscular frame, Van's back taking the brunt of the impact as he howled. As she rose up off him, her hands took hold of her ex by the skull to drag him up onto his unsteady feet. "Don't you remember? 'I'm not a fair guy, and you should know that by now.' Your words. Not mine. So you surely can't complain when I take advantage of such moments to turn the tide of the match in my favor. Even if it is far from my preferred tactic." Turning themselves around so that she now stood before the barricade while Van's back faced the ring apron, the French beauty would clench her fist tight before swinging it upwards into Van's chin for an European uppercut. The aim being to send him stumbling backwards against the ring apron...and that punch might just have been focused with a little bit of her resentment built in the years since their last meeting...