View From the Other Side

[BlackAkuma]

‘Work out and learn moves’? That wasn’t a good sign.

”Yes, but you’re making it sound far more straightforward than it is.” Bast held out her arms, allowing Angie to get a complete look at her. She wasn’t showing off - at least, she wasn’t trying to, but it might have come out that way. ”I didn’t get this way overnight. It took years of training and dedication. LAW isn’t some catfighting league - at least, not most of the time. There are serious fighters here. To stand a chance, you have to be, as well.”

She eased up and rubbed her shoulder, not wanting to throw too much on the poor woman’s shoulders. It looked like she was already carrying more burdens than anyone could be expected to bear.

”I think, ultimately, you just need to decide what you want to do. If you don’t want to get better and just want to get through this, try to keep your head down, don’t put up a fight in the ring, take your bumps and let them pin you. That way, you run the least risk of getting injured. But if you’re serious about getting better, you have to put the time in, and accept that you might not see any real change for a long while. It will be difficult, I won’t sugarcoat it.”

An idea came to her, and she started fiddling around in her gymbag. She knew they were around here, somewhere…

[Lycanstar]

Angie felt Bast's grip on her shoulder; she felt like if Bast wanted to she could tear her arm right off- But she was probably right; She wasn't going to become a championship fighter in one night...

But "Don't put up a fight"? What kind of advice was that? Angie seemed puzzled- wasn't the point of wrestling... to fight? Is she telling her to become a masochist or something? Is this some kind of sex thing? Is that why her opponents keep getting... frisky with her..?

"I-I'm just sick of being a loser; I- I don't want to just~ lay out on my back the entire time here..."

She watched as Bast started digging through her gym bag with curiosity- what was she grabbing?

[BlackAkuma]

”I’m just trying to be realistic. You’re starting from a low point, and the truth is that you’re going to lose a lot. You need to start training, but in the meantime, you will lose. You might lose a lot. You’re not going to see changes in a week, or a month, maybe not even a year, and you need to accept that.”

It wasn’t the easiest truth to deliver, but it was the truth, and Bast didn’t want Angie to have some fanciful idea about the way things would work. This wasn’t like a movie montage, where she would make a radical transformation while music played in the background. She was on a hard road, and if she was going to walk down it, she needed to understand how long it was.

But that didn’t mean she had to walk it alone.

”I’m not a trainer. Even if I was, the way I fight isn’t good for you. I rely on my size and height, and there’s no one who can teach you how to be taller. But I can help you in other ways.” She pulled out a card - her sister’s business card, specifically. She wanted Bast to hand it out every now and then, tossing around the notion of building her client base. But that wasn’t the reason she was giving it to Angie.

”This has mine and my sister’s number on it.” She pointed to the lower one of the card, hers, and handed it over. ”I can’t help you in the ring, but I can protect you outside of it, to some extent. People might try to push you around after matches, take advantage of you - if they do, call me, and I’ll handle it. I owe you that much.”

[Lycanstar]

Angie felt her heart sink a little~ It wasn't like the truth about becoming an athlete wasn't obvious already but it still stung to hear. She could see a year flash before her eyes of hard training, painful nights and plenty of humiliating losses... It well... seemed like a lot. The alternative for her was simply taking each of her remaining contractually obligated matches and then getting out of dodge. While she would be able to leave with her bones intact... She would be right back where she started before finding this gig. And a bit worse for wear too- how could she live the rest of her life after this experience? Especially if she just... walked away.

Angie was handed a card with Bast and her Sister's phone number. She felt like a mafioso going in on a protection racket~ This place was getting weirder every night...

"I um... I don't know how to thank you... I- I have nothing to give so..."

Angie was a bit flushed but felt like she had made a connection- Even it was a bodyguard it was something at least... An appreciative tone was heard in her voice as her tears started to form in the back corner of her eyes once again~ She couldn't believe she was able to scream at Bast earlier; she must have come off like such a ungrateful brat but... She was actually being nice to her.

[BlackAkuma]

”You don’t have to give me anything. I’m the one who owes you, after all. It’s the least I can do.”

Cersei would certainly disagree - she’d stressed, time and time again, the importance of only trusting themselves when they were in Japan. Even before that, really. Back home, the two of them had never made friends. Acquaintances, maybe. Partners, a few times. But people they cared enough for to help without some sort of equal gain in return? No, never. Equivalent exchange was the way things worked in this sport, and you didn't get any extra points for playing nice.

But, truthfully, Bast didn't care. It was nice to just do something for someone and make the world a slightly better place. She hoped that was what she was doing, anyway.

Satisfied - as much as she could hope to be at the moment - she nodded and went down the hall, pulling the gym bag up on her shoulders as she went. ”Be safe, Angie.”

[Lycanstar]

Angie stood in place awkwardly staring as Bast began to leave. She looked down at the card with a sense of comfort and reassurance- Maybe this one act of kindness could mean... Things could go well for her after all.

"...Thank you."

Angie didn't say anything else as she let Bast walk away~ While it was certainly a confusing night for her- it at least ended on a positive note. Angie thought about what Bast had told her about training and her place on the totem pole... Could she really become a real wrestler? Angie's thoughts would linger on this question as she turned to leave the arena.