Fortune Versus Stardom: The Boxing Challenge (for CaptainL and RedShinigami)

[Pegasus]

Lyra just figured Molly wanted to get a defensive lead on her, but it definitely didn’t work as this was a whole different sport than flying off the ropes. Lyra got one of her shots in, but the other to the jaw completely missed allowing Molly to get a nice left jab to Lyra’s ribs. Lyra groaned as her mouth piece bulged in her mouth before she sucked it back in getting back in good position and distant herself away from Molly. Lyra grimaced a little as she got her guard up and advanced once more.

Lyra came close and zig-zagged around the beginner trying to throw her off focus before ducking to her right. Lyra threw a left hook at Molly’s jaw again for a second attempt and then tried to follow up with another right hook to the stomach since she was already weak there. Hopefully that would buy more time for Lyra to get ahead of the game.

[CaptainL]

Even with a guard in her mouth, Molly still smiled a little wider when she got a shot of at Lyra's side. She might have been new to boxing, and she was still getting used to the different rules and expectations it involved, but so far, she was off to a good enough start. However, she knew things weren't over yet - and that she would still need to keep up her guard, as Lyra would surely be quick to throw herself back into the thick of the action.

Sure enough, the fortune teller came back off the ropes, swerving from side to side as she advanced on Molly. That sort of footwork might have been an old trick in many boxers' books, but when Molly was used to a sport and style that involved a lot more mobility, it was a new challenge for her! She tried to jump from one position to another, doing her best to follow every move her opponent made, but each time she ducked and weaved, she was using up a little more of her energy, slowing her down ever so slightly. That left her open enough for Lyra to get a shot off at her jaw, and this time, it hit! With the sound of a crack, Molly's head reeled backward and turned to the side, causing her to drop her guard. And from there, Lyra was able to drive a fist right into her unprotected stomach!

With the sound of a cough, Molly doubled over forward, the impact all but driving the air out of her lungs. As she panted for breath, she stumbled back toward her corner, clutching at her gut to try and shield herself when she was already feeling sore. Lyra had caught her off her guard, and she needed to catch her breath - but would her foe let her?

[Pegasus]

“Let her have time. You got her good there,” Jonathan instructed Lyra as the fortune teller would agree stepping back.

Lyra did quite the number on Molly and hoped it wasn’t too hard against the bunny. She wasn’t as quite trigger happy as Chelsea would be in this situation and Lyra could tell Molly only had the training side down pat judging by the way Molly had trouble keeping up with her zig-zagging. Lyra only had a year in training herself so there were still things that were new to her, but she quickly adopted her own way of fighting. Hopefully, Molly would be ready to go as the timer quickly ticked down.

[CaptainL]

Fortunately enough for Molly, Lyra wasn't the type to capitalize on a moment of weakness, and Jonathan saw she needed the chance to compose herself. As Lyra retreated into the corner, the Englishwoman took in a few more pants to fill the air back in her lungs. She brought her hand up to rub at her jaw with the backside of her glove, then moved it a little higher to wipe sweat off her brow. But soon, she stood back up straight, rolling her shoulders and swinging her arms to loosen up before she flashed a confident grin. She was a Superstar, after all, and she wasn't going to let this hold her back for long before she was back into the action!

"All right, I'm ready!" she cheered, dropping down into a stance and raising her arms. She looked up at Jonathan and nodded to him with a smile, in thanks for stepping in on her behalf. But then, she would direct her attention on Lyra. She knew that after taking this much damage, it would be important to conserve her energy, so the first few steps she took to close the distance were slow and careful - but then, she was ready to use her trademark speed and agility to her advantage! Hoping to switch gears fast enough to catch Lyra by surprise, Molly took off running toward her opponent, where she would go to drive a fist into her stomach. If that worked, she would quickly bring her arm up to hit her with an uppercut to the jaw!

[Pegasus]

Jonathan checked in on Molly noticing her grin and nod to him as he stepped back letting both women continue their fight. Lyra came back touching gloves to continue as she tried for some fast jabs, but widened her eyes as Molly managed to duck around them using her impressive speed. Not to mention, she came running in with a serious blow to Lyra’s stomach as the fortune teller nearly lost her mouth guard on that punch alone. Lyra backed up into the corner and held her stomach groaning in pain.

Molly didn’t give her the same charity as Lyra did for her as the guard was dropped and the uppercut blasted Lyra’s head upwards. Lyra was launched in mid-air and nearly fell over the top rope of the ring spitting out her mouth guard outside. She fell back in and on her shoulder groaning as she held her stomach.

“Kid, what did Moni train you in? Punching boulders?” Jonathan asked.

Jonathan went over to Lyra checking in on her as she spit out saliva and nodded to her being okay to continue once she could rise. Jonathan began the count on her and it was up to Lyra to get back to her feet.

“1…2…”

[CaptainL]

Molly was still adjusting to the different demands of boxing as compared to the style she was more used to, but it didn't take long for her to realize that some things helped no matter what the situation. Her speed had helped her in many a match, and even if she couldn't perform the sorts of aerial moves she was used to, it would still come in handy when it came time to dodge her opponent's assault! Lyra kept trying to punch her, but Molly was able to swerve around each incoming blow - and then, as she came into range, she was able to apply all the momentum of her charge behind her fist, driving the air out of Lyra's stomach! She wasn't expecting the fortune teller to be hit so hard, and her eyes went wide as she let out a gasp, watching her opponent deflate around her knuckles. That meant she was doing better than anticipated, and that thought alone was enough to give her a rush. But it wouldn't stop her from making the next move she had up her sleeve - as she swung her fist straight up into Lyra's jaw for a devastating uppercut!

The force of Molly's blow was enough to knock Lyra over, causing her to crumple over the ropes. The Englishwoman had made the shot herself, but even she was surprised to see just how hard it had hit. Her eyes went wide and her jaw dropped as she took a step back, holding a hand to her mouth. She was still getting used to her own strength, and for a moment, she worried if she had hit Lyra too hard for such a friendly spar. "Sorry..!" she yelped. She had to remind herself to put her mouth guard back in a moment later when it dropped into her hand in the process. But then, it began to set in for Molly that if she had hit this hard, it meant she was winning - and that she was demonstrating how powerful the Superstars could be, no matter the occasion!

Shooting Harmonia a grin, she turned to look back at her girlfriend, hopping up and down and waving her hand in the air. "MONI! Dihd yuu shee thht?" she cried, forgetting in her excitement she still had her mouth guard in.

[Pegasus]

“3….4….” Jonathan counted as Lyra groaned in the corner and struggled getting up as her chin and stomach were killing her, but as the count of 6 came, the pain started subsiding and Lyra crawled for the ropes getting up at 8.

This wasn’t looking good. That was just a couple punches and it nearly kept Lyra down for the whole count. Not to mention, they still had 45 seconds in the first round and the clock ticked and ticked down. Lyra got back up and Jonathan fetched her mouth guard for her to stick back in her mouth. Lyra swished it around making sure it was in tightly before punching the gloves together in order to fight.

[CaptainL]

Molly truly had hit harder than she was expecting, and Lyra stayed down for some time. As Jonathan's count grew higher and higher, her heart beat faster, and her stomach tightened with anticipation. It seemed as though this match might have ended before it had truly begun. She glanced between him and where Lyra was crumbled in the corner - on one hand, she was worried if the fortune teller was hurt, or if she had hit too hard. She would've felt guilty knowing she had endangered her sparring partner this way - yet, at the same time, she couldn't help but be excited at the thought that if it was all her doing, it meant she had adapted to the challenges of boxing so naturally that she was doing this well in her first bout! She glanced back over her shoulder at Harmonia with a smile, hopping up and down a few times with eager energy. If that was the case, it meant Molly had what it took to succeed anywhere she went - the mark of a true Superstar!

However, Lyra managed to get back up all the same, and Molly knew it was time for her to stay serious. Narrowing her gaze on her foe, she got back down into a stance, raising her fists and tapping her gloves together to assume her guard. Slowly and carefully she closed in on Lyra, strafing around her at a safe distance to wait for a good opening.

"Dn't psssh yuurslff ff yuu can't dff fft," Molly began in a soft whisper to Lyra, only to realize that her words were all but incomprehensible with the mouth guard in. She blushed at this, but she would make her move anyway. First she'd test the waters, hopping in with a feint toward the head to draw Lyra's attention - but then she would swiftly hop out of the way, hoping that while the fortune teller protected her face, Molly would be clear for another shot to her stomach!

[Pegasus]

Lyra knew that this wouldn’t be easy for her anymore knowing Molly could hit harder than she looked. Harmonia definitely taught her all she knew from when The Superstar trained under Dana Ashford in the Shadow Fortress. She had heard of the training dungeon when she got to LAW and how it molded girls into true wrestlers. Luckily, Lyra came on her own thanks to Jonathan and the indies back in America. She even took boxing to get her strikes and punches down and that went well for her over a year. However, Molly might have been a beginner, but her strikes made it look like she was boxing for years. Lyra was told Molly had boxing as apart of her combat sports resume and it was only to help her in wrestling, but you could’ve been fooled into thinking the small bunny went pro.

Lyra shook her head getting her guard up wanting to focus on the match and might have had to play defensive for the meantime. A quick glance at the clock showed 25 seconds left in the first round and she just had to survive. Lyra saw the punch coming for her head so she used her right arm to block, but Molly hopped to the side going for the stomach. However, Lyra hopped back herself to let Molly hit nothing, but air. Lyra went for a three punch combo up close with a left and right hook for the stomach hoping to finish it with a uppercut before the bell would be rung!

[CaptainL]

Molly didn't have the same sort of experience when it came to boxing as someone who had truly made it their life and their craft. Like Lyra, she had dabbled in the style as a way of perfecting her strikes, setting the stage for her to rise to the level of a true Superstar, but it wasn't something she was as accustomed to as wrestling, and she hadn't had the years of experience needed to familiarize her with the ins and outs of every punch and position and how to set up her strategy. But none of that seemed to matter now. Whatever Molly was doing, it was working - she had Lyra on the ropes, and already she was starting to think in terms of where she could set her up for a match-winning combo. Her confidence grew the more she thought about it, and so too did her eagerness to pull through. She just needed to keep that up, and she could win this!

Now that Molly was growing bolder, she figured it was time to step up her game. She thought she had the perfect plan worked out in setting up a feint to distract Lyra before she went for a devastating blow. But either Lyra was one step ahead of her, or Molly was about to learn that tricks like these wouldn't work on a fortune teller. Lyra managed to get out of the way just before Molly's punch could hit, leaving the Englishwoman gasping in shock. They were outdoing each other even with their mind games! In all of Molly's excitement, the idea of Lyra dodging seemed unthinkable - up until it happened! And now that Molly was distracted, she had left herself wide open for the fortune teller to swing a couple of fists at her stomach, buffeting her from side to side!

With each punch that landed, Molly would turn aside, wheezing as the air was driven from her lungs. But when the uppercut came, it surpassed all of Lyra's prior efforts in its intensity. Molly's head was thrown straight upward with a trail of spittle as Lyra's gloved fist was driven into her jaw, and her feet gave out from under her, causing her to fall to her back with a thud. Laid out with her limbs splayed around her and gazing up at the ceiling, Molly expected Jonathan to start counting again - but instead, the bell rang, announcing the end of the round!

With a groan, Molly began to sit back up, rubbing at her head. She spat out her mouth guard, but her jaw dangled limply as she panted for air. Glancing back over her shoulder, she looked back at Harmonia in her corner. "That...got me good..." she said in between gasps.