Disabled

[APlaying]

Although Garlim could have nodded at the comment, she wouldn't have been able to do so right now, even if she wanted to, because of the neck brace. She was right to a certain extent, but that didn't stop her from wanting to put the Swede in a punching bag if she could. "Believe me, I'm aware of that too..." Garlim replied with a grimace of pain.

Snow considered things for a second. It was a serious injury; Garlim had been close to being paralyzed. And that made her somewhat anxious. "...I think you need to know this... Ambre has just been stripped of her championship belt."

As soon as she heard that, Garlim's expression changed from pain to one of total bewilderment. "What??" The blonde goddess hadn't expected news like this. Ambre was quite strong; it sounded rather silly that she had been defeated so quickly.

Snow gently ran her fingers along her thighs as she carefully considered how to break the news to her. "It seems she had a conflict with certain executives, now she's blacklisted from LAW, and it looks like they're going to vacate the title without her."

The news hit Garlim like a ton of bricks. She had worked hard to prepare Ambre to fulfill her dream of becoming champion, and now... "Oh, God..."

[Highfly]

Svetlana had heard that same news and she nodded along. She wasn't sure but it seemed like Garlim had been close to Ambre. Right now Svetlana was a third wheel and she kept quiet as she sat back letting the other two talk. They had known each other much longer and right now she didn't want to interrupt anything.

[APlaying]

Silence spread between them, heavy with the weight of championship belts, broken necks, and postponed dreams. Outside, the afternoon rain began to intensify, pounding on the window like a thousand tiny fists demanding entry.

The words escaped Garlim like a ragged gasp, sharper than the pain in her neck. Her knuckles, white against the mattress of the stretcher, trembled. All the hours, the brutal training sessions where she had pushed Ambre beyond her limits, shouting “Come on, that's not enough!”, all reduced to... this. Stripped bare. Blacklisted. Unemployed. As if she were nothing more than a substitute.

In a low voice, trembling with contained rage and disbelief, "Blacklisted? Unemployed? Without even a chance to defend the belt? What possible ‘conflict’ justifies that?“ She tried to shake her head, grimacing as the collar dug into her skin, forcing her to stay still. ”Ambre... She'd been preparing since she arrived. She earned that belt in the ring, Snow. Not in a damn boardroom!"

Snow reached out instinctively, hovering close to Garlim's shoulder before remembering the fragility of her injury. “I know, Garlim. I know how hard you both worked. But the LAW... they move fast when they need to. Scandals, bad press... they cut out the rot instantly... You've been through this yourself before...”

Garlim leaned forward slightly, her eyes burning, tears of pure frustration stinging her despite herself. “Rot? She wasn't the rot!” She tapped her thigh weakly with her fist, the movement jolting her neck and causing a sharp hiss of pain. "All that potential... lost. Wasted. Because of me." The image of Ambre's face, the fierce and hopeful girl who had probably become one of her best friends, flashed in her mind.

Snow sighed, feeling a weight in the room. “The worst part? They're already talking about a tournament. About getting fresh meat to ‘rebuild the division’. As if Ambre never existed.”

Garlim closed her eyes tightly; the physical pain was momentarily drowned out by a deeper, more corrosive ache. “It's not like she never existed. I, I helped build that champion. And now... I just ruin things. If I hadn't helped her, none of this would have happened, just...” Garlim closed her eyes. She could see it already: the smear campaign, the carefully worded press releases portraying her as “unstable” or “difficult.” The machine was in motion, and Ambre was caught in the gears. And there she was, trapped in bed, wrapped in plaster and Velcro, unable to storm into the main office and demand that they reconsider their position.

Snow stood up and took Garlim by the shoulders, almost ignoring the pain in her neck. “YOU CAN'T DO ANYTHING!!” Snow added quickly, seeing the devastation reflected on Garlim's face. “But she's not alone, the legal team is working on this, it's not your fight... You need to rest.”

Garlim sobbed, the powerful figure of the blonde goddess now in a fragile state, devastated and broken inside. The whole situation was overwhelming her, as if all those traumas were coming back to haunt her.

The actress turned to look at Svetlana, hoping for a reaction that might calm the anxiety in a situation like this.

[Highfly]

Svetlana took a deep breath. She felt like nothing she could say or do could help. She had to try though. "First off, a woman like Ambre will easily get signed with other promotions. Her career isn't over. She is still out there and the same woman, you can still see her again and she would hate seeing you like this wouldn't she?" Svetlana said.

"Right now as hard as it is listen to that the doctors say and focus on your recovery." She added trying to sound as calm as she could hoping to diffuse things.

[APlaying]

Snow took a deep breath. While it wasn't certain that Ambre would be hired by another company while on the blacklist, it wasn't out of the question that she might go to an independent company either. Even so, the problem persisted, but as long as Garlim could relax a little, any excuse would do. "Svetlana's right, all is not lost with Ambre. While her career at LAW has fallen apart, she won't just sit idly by... And what about you, Garlim?"

Garlim's sobs slowly subsided, replaced by deep, trembling breaths. Her red, swollen eyes locked onto Snow's. For a moment, the two women stared at each other; Svetlana's words had struck a chord, and Garlim's gaze shifted to the window, where the rain continued to pour, drumming relentlessly on the pavement.

And suddenly, she thought of Ambre, and what they had talked about during their stay at Billionaire's. "When we went to Billionaire's, Ambre and I talked about how we would develop our careers. She had just won the heavyweight belt, and she told me she would love for me to challenge her for it. But I told her I wasn't interested in that, I was just looking for challenges... But somehow she convinced me by saying that if I faced her, I would earn enough merit to enter some... Like she said... 'Apex tour' or something like that. But that if I beat her, I could go straight to facing some openweight champion."

Snow raised an eyebrow. "She told you that? The truth is, I doubt Astrid will let go of that belt for a while; she doesn't accept challenges from just anyone. You'd have to go through several promos, and that's not exactly your specialty."

Garlim pointed at Snow. "I'll grant you that, but Ambre convinced me. It really did sound interesting..."

[Highfly]

Svetlana sat back and listened more. She took a deep breath and tried again to calm Garlim. "Rest, recover, and return. Come back and aim for that title. Don't let anyone dissuade you from it. If the champion doesn't often accept challenges then go out and win until you can't be ignored. First, get yourself healed up and in position to do that." Svetlana said. She was trying to be direct and not speak to things she didn't fully understand. She wasn't sure exactly how close Garlim and Ambre were. She didn't know a lot of things but she was hoping that having concrete goals and a plan would help Garlim get back on track.

[APlaying]

Garlim's shaky breathing finally began to calm; the intense panic in his chest gave way to a strange, hollow clarity. Svetlana's words hung in the air: simple, blunt, and indisputable. Rest. Recover. Return. It was a roadmap, however narrow, and right now, Garlim needed a path more than he needed sympathy.

The blonde goddess wiped her eyes with the back of her sleeve, drying the tears from her reddened skin. She looked at Snow and then at Svetlana. “I can't... I can't just lie around. Ambre wouldn't let me. She'd drag me out of bed by my hair if she had to.”

Snow let out a short, dry laugh. “That sounds like her. She's stubborn enough to do it.”

Garlim nodded, a slight smile playing on her lips. “She is.” She took a deep breath; the air filled her lungs without stopping this time. "I need to heal. Really heal. Not just patch myself up and run back out there. And then... I need to start from the bottom. Prove myself in promotions... But I'm not sure where to start..."

Snow clenched her fists. "Actually, you made progress on that just today. The speech you gave at the end of your fight, even though it probably came to nothing, was decent.“ The actress pointed to Svetlana. ”Svetlana told me about your training, and you've shown that you're capable of imposing yourself in a way that we can't... But you do need to get used to the wrestling environment once and for all. You have to embrace it! And I'm going to help you project that image. While you're resting, we'll practice your performance."

Garlim looked down at her hands, clenching them into fists and then unclenching them. “Patience,” she repeated, as if tasting the word. It wasn't her strong suit, but for the first time in days, she felt she could do it.

The room felt a little warmer, the weight on her chest a little lighter. The rain outside was just rain now, not a storm threatening to drown her. She had a goal, a plan, and people who believed in her. It wasn't much, but it was enough to start rebuilding. “First I need to see how Ambre is.” Although the weight felt lighter, Garlim was very worried now.

[Highfly]

Svetlana was glad something she said sank in. "Call her, talk to her she didn't just disappear from Earth and she epuld be happy to speak I imagine." Svetlana said. "You just need to listen to the doctors for now." She added plainly.

She could only hope that Garlim didn't rush back and that she did wait until she was cleared.

[APlaying]

Snow stifled a laugh behind her hand. Garlim finally let the smile reach her eyes, but even though she seemed somewhat more relaxed about the situation, she couldn't help noticing that the blonde goddess was scared. And she was hiding it in the only way she knew how. “You still sound like you're about to cry, princess,” Snow said more softly.

With that comment, Garlim couldn't hold back any longer and threw a hard punch at Snow's shoulder, causing the actress to let out a howl and writhe in pain. “OOOOOGH!!!” Garlim let out a laugh accompanied by a grimace of pain. “Who's crying now!?” Garlim responded.

Snow put her other hand on her shoulder. “Damn—” Snow muttered a curse as a nurse scolded her in the background. “No. Heal yourself. I mean it. We'll start from the bottom together when you get out...” Snow said, her voice trembling.

Garlim smiled even wider. “And you, listen to Svetlana for once in your damn life, okay? Promise me,” Garlim said, because for once the words didn't feel like chains.

After talking for a while, Snow decided to leave with Svetlana, letting Garlim process her situation. It was still raining, so the actress offered to give the Dungeons and Dragons fan a ride home in her car. “A long pause...” Snow thought things over for a moment, leaning back in her chair. “Hey Svetlana, promise me you won't self-destruct when I'm not there to kick your ass.”

[Highfly]

Svetlana left with Snow and heard her question looking over at her curiously. She was actually confused by it. "I am not the type to self destruct, so I think I will be fine and you never really did that? I won and you were tryin to cheat when we faced off didn't you?" Svetlana asked as she seemed to be recalling an entirely different scenario that Snow apparrently.