Come As You Are

[Lightman]

Some in the crowd had questioned why didn’t Safiyah just attack those times, considering just how fast and deft her responses had been. Safiyah could give a bunch of reasons, ones that link to the fact that she’s employing tactics to best the lady in red. A way of getting into their heads, screwing with their minds or them to get flustered or even frustrated. It’s easy to do so. An opponent that seemingly can’t be touched, no matter how much one tries, can impact someone’s mental. All but leaving reminders of how easily you can get hit in the meantime.

Admittedly, Safiyah was simply indulging. Facing against a classy, elegant lady like Eliza is a surefire way to get her all tingling. Despite the fact Eliza doesn’t show the same affection back, that isn’t stopping Safiyah from laying it thick with teasing and playful banter. Though she does genuinely want to know more about this person. Especially to create some talking points for their date.

It’s all multifaceted, complex thoughts that make up the enigma that is the Azure Cobra.

And Eliza herself was experiencing the swiftness of those love bites. Safiyah was growing hotter by the minute, her heart pumping with excitement as she let the feeling of Eliza’s cheek linger on her soles, toes wriggling, looking all giddy with exhilaration. The more this goes on, the more that hunger grows. And Safiyah was working with a great appetite. “Aww, come on, give a girl a hint if I’m still not close~…” Safiyah purred, lifting her leg, causally standing in a split. What most would see as a challenge, to Safiyah, was as natural as breathing. “Isn’t communication key to a potential relationship?”

Impressive as the way Safiyah could weave and dodge through attacks and entertaining was her playful, prodding banter, there still wasn’t much progress made. Neither have landed a solid hit on each other and with the way this was going, it would no doubt bore the gym patrons. Perhaps the Dancing Passion has seen this and she would spice things up, as they say. Not matching Safiyah’s provocations but in the manner of a unique style. Rather than the poised ballet, Eliza switched to another style of dance. “Well, well, well~.” Safiyah watched on as the British Aristocrat put on quite the display. Her leg would lower, back on two feet, keen on watching such a passionate display. “Someone’s full of surprises. Guess I’ll have to brush up on my dan-”

Her speech got cut off the moment that heterochromatic gaze caught the moment a leg shot out, but her body was too slow to react in time. “Gahh!” The bluenette cried out, feeling a blunt force striking at her inner knees, spreading her legs wide that it caused a moment of instability. Although her legs are compromised, the upper body could still react and had she not started to backpedal, Safiyah would have caught a brutal spinning kick to the head. Her heterochromatic eyes were wide in surprise. Things could have gone from bad to worst for the Azure Cobra, but as it is, she’s lucky that she hasn’t had to find out how strong Eliza could ring that bell on her noggin.

[Deus001]

If anyone stepped into the ring with Eliza regardless of the circumstances one thing would always be attested about her, that her kicks were no joke and they were the bane of many a wrestler in the British indies. Men and women alike had been floored in the literal sense by her, usually in a very similar situation to what her sparring partner in this ring had just felt actually.

The dancing passion would elegantly spin in place after delivering that strike, her poise and balance on full display without even a hint of worry at not performing her moves right. Eliza's striking leg would move to rest there as she resumed her classic ballet stance there as if her blow was just part of the performance.

"Was that satisfactory? Now then." Eliza said in a formal tone before keeping her stance tight again, then suddenly bolting forward and attempting to leap upwards to try and clip Safiyah with a swift shooting enzhiguri kick. However out of respect for the sake of a spar the kick of Eliza's wouldn't reach the head but rather at the shoulder blades, to sting and stun rather than outright demolish and Eliza wished to see how Safiyah would respond to this pressure!

[Lightman]

Just about evading away from the big one, Safiyah was thankful that the spinning kick didn’t hit its mark. All of her taunting and frivolous nature was coming back to bite her in the ass, the Azure Cobra looking a bit of a fool as she stumbled to regain her footing. Much as Safiyah had proven to be dexterous, mostly for her pleasure, Eliza has shown why she’s still someone not to take lightly, considering their similar style.

The Azure Cobra was left with egg on her face still, and although she eventually stabilised herself, Eliza showed no mercy towards her sparring challenger. Rushing towards the Egyptian, Safiyah’s eyes widened as the British Aristocrat leapt up. “Woahwoahwoahwoahwaitaminuite-!” Safiyah panicked, but to no avail, as Eliza’s leg smacked at her shoulder. Despite the interesting choice of target, Safiyah landed on her backside, her hands placed behind her on the mat, feeling the harsh sting on her shoulder.

“Owowowowowow…” The Egyptian muttered, holding her shoulder. “Aw come on, I wasn’t ready!” She whinged, getting up towards one knee. “You didn’t even answer my question…” The Azure Cobra comically pouted, all while Eliza would be rewarded with the first clean hit of the spar, the gym patrons clapping a bit.

With a huff, Safiyah leaned back, her hands planted on the floor, before flipping into a handstand and then landing on her feet. That enziguri was quite the stunner, and she could imagine how many foes had fallen because of that. Way too many, if Eliza was very experienced. “*AHEM* Alright then! I’ll give you that one, since I am so gracious. But unlucky for you, I got the next one. And many more to come~.” Safiyah quickly regained composure, all before returning to her stance. Not a good look so far, but if Eliza isn’t willing to indulge a bit, then Safiyah will have to loosen her up…

[Deus001]

Eliza truth be told had met few opponents in the indies that could be similar to Safiyah, not even those of an acrobatic style that she had rarely come across during her time roaming Britain up and down. Few could have handled her strike the way her sparring partner did, upon reflection Eliza was musing to herself that this lady might be a.....how did one call it again? A diamond in the rough? Yes she believed it to be so, more than before now at least. It actually reminded Eliza just a tad of her own start in wrestling.

The difference being however was that well......Eliza didn't have that massive chip on her shoulder that Safiyah was clearly flaunting about. When Eliza was a rookie she remembered being a lot more quiet and taking feedback on board, none of her clan had ever chosen the path after all. So she learned and got better, still no matter. Eliza was enjoying this a bit more now. "I'm grateful I'm sure. You've already made this a spar to remember." Eliza said in response with a smirk before saying "As for your question, I'm afraid I don't swing that way."

"Now then I see your ready, lets continue." Eliza would say as she allowed her dance partner to regain composure before then making to dart forward, this time however she'd attack not with her legs but rather her arms as she shift forward and try to deliver a right handed knife edge chop attempt at the solar plexus. If Safiyah was good enough in the dancing department Eliza was curious to see how she'd respond to a pro wrestling strike and change of tempo.

[Lightman]

Not great what happened. But it could have been worse…

…Is what’s going through her mind right now. Some would be content with just being able to keep up with the offence of a supposed veteran of the league. Especially an unproven rookie that it’s still trying to prove her worth. But for Safiyah, it was more than that. Sure, she had the appeal that could bring eyes, but she didn’t want to be like the ladies who came and went just as quickly. The bluenette desired greater, and even if she has to use Eliza as an unlucky stepping stone, so be it.

“I want more than that…” she quietly muttered to herself before restoring composure and settling into a different kind of stance. One that had her body undulating, shimmering, like a snake in motion. Her abdominals rolled and flexed, her eyes focused on the blonde dancer like her namesake, almost hypnotising to the eyes. Safiyah’s arms moved like serpents, and it was clear to the gym patrons watching on that it was as if she was getting into the kind of groove Eliza was in before with the flamenco routine.

“Indeed,” Safiyah said, her demeanour changed into something more serious rather than playful.

The British Aristocrat would dart right in, resuming this battle. Returning to the wrestling roots, Eliza’s arm shifted forward for a knife-hand chop. Suddenly, Safiyah’s leg came up, pistoning out to jam her heel at the elbow, intercepting it before it fired out. That wouldn’t be the only thing that the Azure Cobra would do, as she would quickly shoot her leg out in swift succession, aiming the blade of her foot right at the philtrum, right above the lips and below the nose.

[Deus001]

Well the bout was resumed there, with Eliza feeling that she had gotten her point across a bit better and her sparring partner looked to be trying again too. The dancing passion vaguely heard her opponent's mutterings there, it felt like the aura in the ring had just changed there. Heck even those outside of the ring could sense it too by Eliza's estimations. Still that in fact intrigued Eliza there and she reckoned it was Safiyah's acknowledgement of the term 'getting serious' and so Eliza got in close prepared to start with another volley of strike exchanges!

Then the next thing the dancing passion knew.....she got clipped. Right in the kisser more or less, there was a ringing in her ears and her vision went blurry. Yeah, that was a direct hit. For the briefest moment Eliza felt her lights go out, then her eyes were looking at the canvas there. The dancing passion fell onto her knees there and her arms flopped loosely there as her neck cranked forward as much as could be.

"Guh......" Eliza muttered out as she was stunned beyond all get out, all she could do was kneel there at the side as her router just got reset to its factory settings!

[Lightman]

There was a definite shift in the atmosphere amongst the crowd, a point that didn’t go past Safiyah. No doubt the masses were wondering when or what caused that shift, but it was as if Safiyah stopped playing around. Those who have had a keen eye thus far would have known that Safiyah was holding back. Moments where it seemed like she could get a hit on the strawberry blonde sparring partner, all while evading any attempts.

It wouldn’t be of any surprise that Safiyah all but negated Eliza’s attack before landing one of her own. A real one. And one that wasn’t held back. It was a sudden shift, considering the British aristocrat had been pretty restrained in her offence too. There were moments that even she controlled her attacks to keep the spirit of a spar.

So, seeing Safiyah striking Eliza in the face got some gasps from the crowd. The dull thud reaching her ears, the sight of Eliza stumbling to her knees…That got a smile out of Safiyah. The same one out of pleasure though hinted with slightly darker intentions.

“Was that satisfactory?” Safiyah would lower her foot down to the ground, after letting it hover from the strike. She would saunter towards the dancing passion, both hands on her hips, almost hypnotising at the sight. Getting within a yard apart, Safiyah would raise her foot to cup underneath Eliza’s chin, so that she could look up at that heterochromatic gaze.

“Aren’t you delicate? Sorry to do this, but we got a crowd to entertain, so I kiiiiinnnda need you awake, okay?” She gave a reassuring pat on the cheek with the ball of her foot, just so that Eliza wasn’t completely out of the loop. That same leg would suddenly swing around and behind Eliza as Safiyah lept up, swiftly wrapping her leg around to trap the blonde’s head in a standard figure-four headscissors.

[Deus001]

Eliza had gone through her fair share of punishment in the ring, there was a saying that you couldn't be a fighter without taking licks yourself. The dancing passion had been slammed and thrown around by her foes in the British indies, but strikes was something she wasn't too used to still now upon reflection. Safiyah managed to be the one that reset Eliza's router the hardest there strike wise at least. Still Eliza wasn't defeated there considering how well in the spar she'd done up to this point, but she was in the progress of cleaning the cobwebs. That is until Saifyah sauntered up to her and made Eliza look her in the eye, Eliza didn't have the awareness to retort but likely wouldn't even then.

Then Eliza's sparring partner took it to the mat with a figure four headscissors, it was only a matter of time before something like this happened. They always said 9 out of 10 fights would go to the mat at least once after all, so Eliza knew the ground game fairly well. She maintained self awareness as to what was happening and the choking of her airways set in, Eliza's thoughts drifted to how she was now on the clock. This would be a feeling out process with Eliza shifting her weight around in the leg submission in an attempt to try and start rolling onto her stomach and try to assess where the edges of the ring might be for a possible rope break attempt. As it stood, or rather sat however Safiyah was now in the driver's seat firmly.

[Lightman]

Safiyah didn’t squeeze straight away. Well, the definition of “squeeze” could be used loosely in these circumstances. They flexed, sure, but it was all to keep Eliza in place, rather than to get a submission out of her. It doesn’t take an experienced person to know the danger of such a legendary hold. Another pound of pressure or so would have been enough to put her out like a light and place a cap on this show.

But that wouldn’t be what either of them was after. Eliza didn’t want to submit to this and neither would Safiyah. The bluenette wanted fun. And that was the only reason why the blonde wasn’t knocked out already.

Of course, that didn’t stop her from shifting around, but Safiyah didn’t mind. Wherever Eliza wanted to go, the Azure Cobra followed. The only time Safiyah’s legs tensed up a bit was to keep that head in place. Just because she wasn’t squeezing, doesn’t mean that Eliza was free to slip her head out. “You know, it would only take me seconds just to knock you out like this,” Safiyah teased, looking relaxed while her legs did the work to keep the Dancing Passion in place. “But then that would end things too quickly now, wouldn’t it? And these lovely people wanted a show…”

However, Eliza would soon learn that this “freedom” came with limits. The moment Eliza was a bit too close to the ropes for her liking, Safiyah would roll the two away from them, returning to the same place that they were at. Just as they returned, a lightbulb clicked on above that blue crown. And with that, a sinister smirk. “Ooooh, that was close! How about this ladies and gentlemen? Place your bets to see how long until my lovely partner here can reach the ropes!”

To demonstrate what she meant, Safiyah’s legs switched to a normal front headscissor, ankles curled and legs outstretched. Then she started to roll to the other side, dragging the two just close to the ropes where Eliza might be able to reach…before rolling away to the other side and repeating the same process. Rolling this way and that. And this will continue until Eliza grabs the ropes or Safiyah gets bored.

[Deus001]

Alright Eliza was in hot water now. Out the frying pan and into the fire now and the burning in her neck was coming about from her sparring partner's killer thighs. Eliza had been placed into the odd submission hold before back in the British indies, though it was usually done in the form of bearhugs or torture racks against her often male foes and when she fought against those of a similar stature to her they usually attacked her legs more often than not. So being on the opposite end of the leggy prison was something that Eliza was still unused to, that didn't mean that Eliza was helpless though. 9 out of 10 fights always went to the ground as they said.

Each time she moved Eliza was denied by her sparring partner. It might have been the hard constriction of air to her lungs giving her this epiphany but Eliza already suspected it, Safiyah did have some genuine talent under that bravado and this intrigued the dancing passion more.

Perhaps a diamond was under the sand after all, regardless Eliza had more pressing issues as black dots emerged in her vision. But any dancer worth their stockings kept self awareness in mind and Eliza just had to time it right.......And there! Eliza's legs wrapped around the nearest bottom rope with her feet crisscrossing around it like a dainty ribbon. Now the Harenwood just had to sit and pray, even then she'd be laying on the mat for a few seconds regardless and prepared to hold her breath for as long as she could.......