An Offering to the Goddess

[BlackAkuma]

This was turning into a fun little game, wasn’t it? Willy was wading hip deep into quicksand, and the poor little bastard didn’t even know it.

Lucy didn’t know exactly what game Neith was playing at or what the end goal, but she knew a con when she saw one, and this had all the warning signs. This woman was altogether too smart to fall for his bullshit, the sort of woman who tended to stop talking to Willy after about three sentences, max. If she was sticking around, it was because she wanted something out of him. Something he might not like. Something that would end up with him crashing and burning in humiliating fashion.

She was down for that. Very much.

”Oh, excuse me, my bad.” Willy held up his hands with a little chuckle, playing defense. ”Didn’t mean to offend.”

Neith’s glance didn’t go unnoticed, and Lucy took this a good enough moment to slip in a quick jab, going off the obvious set up. ”Willy’s mouth cashes a lot of checks his body can’t handle. ” She threw a knowing smile his way. ”Not just in the ring, either. So I hear.”

Willy sneered her way, his brow furrowing, but his features calmed after a moment. ”No idea what you’re on about.” He turned back Neith’s way and leaned forward. ”Maybe you’re right, maybe you’re wrong. We just me, though - why don’t you try me? I might be full of surprises.”

”You’re full of something.”

”Shut it.”

[HotWheels]

Pleased to hear that her invitation invited the continued jabs of the band's lone female, Safiya held her tongue and looked between the two with satisfaction. Her picture of this dynamic grew clearer, and she so loved observing dynamics. Her talent for her had served her well in a past life, when she took her panties off in hotel bedrooms. It would appear to her that this Lucy glued the constituent parts of Willy's absent bluster and Theo's hard work and nerviness together so they didn't spin out of orbit. They probably didn't realize it, either. For shame. They could really use someone to whip them into even further shape, couldn't they?

When their verbal spar ended, Safiya was left with a decision. Even a fool knew what Willy tried to imply. Did she agree to take his bait? Perhaps she did, and she would find herself satisfied, and as importantly, well-paid. Anyone who both wrestled and worked a gig like this had some spare spending money, she imagined. Even if he didn't, he seemed the type to spend what he didn't have to enjoy the company of a woman like Safiya. While she briefly debated, Safiya turned up the charms that much more, making an adjustment to her bra that was not at all necessary and sliding her phone out of a tight back pocket to slip it into the pocket of the jacket she let lie on the bar...almost as if she were gearing up for something.

"One thing you'll find about me: I'm rarely, if ever, wrong." She prodded at his chin with a finger as she leaned in closer herself, leaving them only a few inches apart. "What are you trying to propose? I don't have much incentive to prove anything to you, now do I? You're the one begging me over here with the promise of a drink." She wiggled the glass in her hand before taking another long sip, keeping eye contact the whole time. When she finished, she smacked her lips almost too overtly. "Which isn't too much of a disappointment."

[BlackAkuma]

And so, once again, Willy’s instincts didn’t fail him. Neith was hooked, and he was reeling her straight in.

Lucy and Theo might not have gotten it, but he just had a way with women, and his talents were on full display here. Oh, she might have seemed reluctant to the untrained ear, but you had to look closer than that. It was all about nonverbal communication. The way she swayed, the look in her eyes, which body parts she chose to put on display. Like a mating dance for humans. She could play coy all she liked, fluster him a bit, all part of the game. They both knew where this was going.

He kept his cool, even as she poked his iron chin, and took a sip of his own. A longer one than hers, drawing the moment out as they kept eye contact. Damn, but she did have a beautiful pair.

”I’m thinking you and me. In one of those specialty matches you were talking about. Anytime you like.” He tapped his glass against hers, making a sharp ping. ”Even tonight, if you’re up to it.”

”What about Theo?”

And Lucy just had to butt in, of course. Couldn't let a master do his work. Willy turned, just far enough to give her a harsh side eye. ”What about Theo?”

”Yeah, what about me?” Theo looked between the three of them, with a glare that said he wanted to be anywhere else on the planet right now. Too bad for him, he was right here, and Lucy wasn’t about to let this opportunity slip away.

”You’re the one who said the both of you needed a debut match. Team. Tag team. Dos.” She jabbed two fingers at him. ”Don’t get mad at me for remembering stuff you said, like, one minute ago.”

Fuck, he did say that, didn’t he? It sucked when she was right. ”I mean, yeah. We could work something out, I guess.”

[HotWheels]

If nothing else, Willy's naivety was cute. Clearly, it had never occurred to him that any pretty face he could possibly want something from could want something in return from him. Admittedly, Safiya did not quite know what that something was yet, but this all had a feeling of potential thrill about it. She had long since learned that perhaps she herself did not need a particular end goal she planned to achieve; sometimes, the people who admired her were willing to give her things that she was not yet aware she wanted. As she let a finger trail across the top of her glass as the three debated the match amongst themselves, not only offering Safiya a match that sounded as if it would be bound by her own desire as far as the rules applied, but one against two of them. That left her the ability to push for far more.

She should see what they would offer. "That's an awful lot to ask. Two of you and only one me to share," she said, not bothering to hide her meaning with the way she looked between them. Her eyes trailed to Lucy. "And I'm guessing you don't intend to volunteer to manhandle your own bandmates." Nor was she going to offer a partnership of that degree...yet, anyway. Safiya wanted every benefit of this to benefit her and her alone, and she had plenty of schemes ready for a match against two men that would ensure she wouldn't have any trouble despite a numbers disadvantage.

Quickly, though, her tone switched to one of business; the Egyptian beauty did, however, turn to face them, letting the length of her body remain fully on display to keep them intrigued. "I would normally charge quite a bit for something impromptu against two opponents, but by the sound of this need for a debut match, I wouldn't be able to do that." Cursed LAW contract. "I already knew you wanted a match, but what I'm asking is: what do I get when- if I win?"

She leaned into Willy, almost close enough to kiss, and let her eyes do the talking. He seemed ready to give up far more than either of the other two. "Give me a reason, Willy."

[BlackAkuma]

Lucy couldn't help herself. Watching Willy get wrapped up in Neith’s web was just too entertaining, and she had to make it that much worse with her add-on. The goofball was so lost in the moment that he’d almost forgotten the way he kicked this whole thing off, and now it was all starting to come crashing down on him.

Yeah, coming out to Japan with the guys had been the right choice. No way was she missing any of this.

Despite keeping her cool, she couldn't help a quick burst of laughter at the thought of ‘manhandling’ the guys, either of them. Her boys could be a mess at the best of times, but they could fight, she’d never take that away from them. ”Yeah, that’s a hard pass from me. Though...” She held up a finger as an idea occurred to her. ”if you guys need a totally impartial referee, maybe...”

Really, she just wanted to be as involved with this as possible, wherever it was going. Especially now that Neith seemed to have Willy wrapped up completely around her pretty fingers. The mention of stakes took him off guard, and his brow furrowed for a second, trying to figure out the best way to proceed. Not a good scene. Willy was not the sort of guy who thought well under pressure. Or in general, most of the time, but especially not on the spot.

He brightened up as an idea popped into brain. Lucy swore, she could almost see a lightbulb form over his head. ”Us. If you win, you get us.”

Theo, who looked just about done packing up his stuff and was on the verge of a tactical exit, snapped around so fast Lucy thought he might’ve gotten whiplash. ”Hey, wait, what?” He titled his head to the side. ”What exactly are you hitching me to?”

Willy brought his hands up, motioning for Theo to cool down, as if that was enough to do it by pure magic. ”LAW can be a rough place, right? Everyone needs friends. A little back up.” He brought a sly eye back to Neith, mirroring her own devilish look. ”Maybe help with some other things. You win, you get us. Whatever you need, anytime you like. How’s that sound?”

Lucy, for her part, just stayed silent with a hand to her mouth, doing her best to contain the giggles.

[HotWheels]

Oh, this little drummer had the right idea. An excellent idea. Safiya's eyes brightened; she already felt discerning enough to assume that this Lucy would be a boon if she made like a referee for anything involving these two. Safiya had already witnessed her pushing them into this match, with seemingly nothing to gain from it herself. That the woman might enjoy seeing what Safiya could do to the two of them seemed likely. "I would be welcome to that arrangement," the Egyptian assured, giving Lucy a conspiratorial look. A good time for her to push for something else, too. "Since you're...technically with these two, we can make it a trade. You act as referee, and I set the rules." She would have agreed to Lucy as the referee either way, but jockeying for more advantages? It was a fine opportunity.

With that placed on the table (or bar, in this case, as Safiya took the last sip of the drink they had given her), there was only the matter of compensation. Willy appeared to struggle with the question. The Egyptian only partially feigned her finger-drumming and heel-tapping brought on by impatience, since she never enjoyed uncertainty. Her gaze tore through the band's most talkative member, urging him to come up with something that would truly benefit her. Better yet, thrill her.

Somehow, he managed.

It took discipline for Safiya not to burst into excited laughter with what he proposed. It could not have fit her needs more perfectly. If Safiya lacked in anything here at LAW, it was...enforcement of her methods. Assurance that she would get what she wanted. A certain someone whose markings she had only just managed to get washed from her skin had threatened her, as would others. Extra muscle would help with that. Extra muscle would even let her gain those nice bonuses from in-ring matches, perhaps. The two could even prove...entertainment during stretches she could not meet with clients. And, frankly, every goddess needed some heavy things moved.

"Whatever I need, anytime I like," Safiya repeated, wistfully, as she gazed at him, then at Theo, like she could devour them both right there. "How can I say no to that offer?"

[BlackAkuma]

Theo knew this day would come, sooner or later. He was familiar enough with LAW history to know that it was inevitable for Willy to write a check with his mouth that his butt couldn't cash, and he’d end up in some amount of trouble, trouble that he would then need to be bailed out of. Irritating as it was, it was just the cost of having the guy as a best friend, the lumps that came with the territory. He was fine with it.

What he wasn’t fine with, though, was getting dragged into that mess. One of them needed to keep their noses clean for this to work, and Theo was set on that being him. And yet, here he was, about to have his life signed away to an - admittedly attractive - woman of which he had known for a sum total of five minutes, if that long.

Nope. Someone had to be the adult, here.

”Uh, I can say ‘no’.” Theo stepped forward and raised his hand, glaring down at a nonplussed Willy. Like a chicken jumping into the oven. ”If you want to walk into rakes, go ahead, but that doesn’t need to involve me.”

He was prepared to leave it at that, too, when Lucy swooped in, tugging at his jacket before he could step off. ”Well, hold on, hold on.” She pointed between the three of them. ”I feel like this is a group thing. Public image and everything. We agreed that we’d vote on stuff like that, remember?”

Yes, Theo did remember that. Before they’d left for Japan, they’d all made a pact to meet on stuff that could affect the band, that they would be democrat with their decisions when they came into conflict. At the time, it was a way to preemptively keep Willy in check - as big of a lunkhead as he could be, he wasn’t dishonest, and if they all came together on something, he wouldn’t go behind their backs. With Lucy and he as the more reasonable two, it seemed like a natural check and balance.

Didn’t foresee this, though. Clearly. ”Yeah, but-”

”All in favor of the match?” Lucy’s hand shot up. ”Aye.”

And there went Willy’s. ”Fuckin’ aye.”

Theo brought a hand to his face, covering it up with his palm as he groaned. ”Christ’s sakes.” He muttered. ”Nay. Whatever.”

”Ayes have it.” Lucy threw a quick thumbs up to Neith. ”We’re on.”

[HotWheels]

To Theo's credit, his opposition might potentially throw a wrench in Safiya's newly sprouted plans, but it showed wisdom. She did not interrupt them: that would not be the thing to do and sour all of them on the idea altogether. If it came to it, and only Willy backed up his own wager, one large man doing her bidding would suffice even if he would pale in comparison to having two at her beck and call. However, to the Egyptian mistress' great pleasure, Lucy continued to be a supporter of each and every idea that favored Safiya. As she contentedly watched the group of them, she made note: pay this lovely little beauty back at some point for her love of making mischief, if nothing else, that benefitted Safiya.

And no matter Theo's opposition, Safiya felt she could have him...tamed, with some effort, if all panned out as she wished.

She resisted the urge to positively beam at Lucy after the vote, as that might reveal her multitude of internal scheming. Her absolute conviction that, if she played all the right cards with her selection of the rules, there was absolutely no way she could lose to the two men. The little drummer, she could thank more directly later. "Don't be so anxious, Theo," Safiya said, in a tone that ensured that if any blood was pumping below his belt, she would have his attention. "It is two of you and one me. I'm not even a traditional wrestler. You have the clear advantage."

Nonetheless, the none-too-subtle eagerness she showed as she fumbled in her jacket for a pen and gabbed a napkin likely betrayed her lack of worry over the odds stacked against her. She stood at the bar with a light bounce of one thigh as she wrote down both her direct phone number (which she did not give out lightly) and a location within LAW's facilities. "We can certainly make this meeting happen tonight." No having Theo argue against it and turn one of her yeas into a nay. "This is a mat room in one of LAW's buildings. Call me if you can't find it."

Knowing that she already had Willy willing and eager, she sashayed her way over to Theo, placing the napkin against his chest and leaning into him to speak directly into his ear. "Don't be late," she cooed, before turning to give him a long, pleasing look at her backside while she strode away toward her jacket. "And don't disappoint, gentlemen," the Egyptian added, and after passing a wink toward Lucy, she strode to the stairs to exit.

[BlackAkuma]

”This is so dumb.” Over an hour later, and Theo was still grumbling. ”This is so fucking dumb.”

WIlly just sighed as he and his bandmates made their way through the quiet halls of LAW’s backstage area, three sets of footfalls echoing endlessly all around them. As hyped as he was, he wouldn’t have minded the silence for a bit from Theo, which was a big change of pace. Most of the time his buddy kept his opinions to himself, tried to stay quiet and let Willy do most of the talking, and that worked out well. But the last hour or so had been a big exception - Theo had spent just about every other minute telling them how big of a mistake this was, how much he was against it, how they were walking into a trap, blah blah blah…

No faith. No faith at all.

”Bro, you have got to chill.” Willy, clad in his fresh wrestling outfit along with Theo, pulled the strap of his gym bag up on his shoulder. He probably didn’t need the change of clothes he’d brought along, but he figured it couldn't hurt to have some extra on hand, just in case things got a little messy. ”You wanted a debut, I got us a debut. Where’s the trouble?”

Theo shook his head. ”Yeah, I wanted us to debut. A tag-team debut. Against another tag-team. In tag-team wrestling. Because we’re, you know, a tag-team.” He groaned and looked towards Lucy, who’d been pretty quiet ever since Neith left. A fun change of pace, really. ”And Lucy wants this to happen. You don’t find that the least bit suspicious.”

”Well, that hurts my feelings, Theo.” She looked his way and pouted, then gave Willy a good slap on the shoulder, coming close to making drop the bag. He straightened up and kept going, after a quick glare her way. ”Willy’s right. For once. You’ve got to relax, man.”

While he was sure Theo had more to say, he let it go with a resigned sigh and followed along, keeping it down for the moment. A good thing, too, because they were coming up to where Neith told them to be, and the last thing he wanted was to go in there with bad vibes. Willy stopped in front of the door, flashed them both a winning smile, opened the door, and…

[HotWheels]

A mostly-bare, upturned rump greeted the band at the door. Across the room, Neith hovered over one of the room's cameras, figuring out the last few steps to get it rolling. It had a handful more buttons than the one she used for her sessions, which she had been tempted to bring, but she had imagined this setup would be faster. Only barely, and had she not been in a fine mood, the goddess might have gotten frustrated with it. Given the arrangement for the night, however, the lovely Egyptian hummed prettily while she got it focused.

She only heard the door once it was open enough for all three to spill in by way of its creaking, and she stood straight to greet them with a rare, genuine grin. Washed, dressed, lotioned, re-makeuped, and perfumed, the exotic beauty felt entirely confident that she would not only look, and smell, divine: more than enough to enrapture Willy. She planned for Theo, and perhaps Lucy too, to follow suit. There was not a doubt in the goddess' mind that she would have their muscle on her side within the half hour.

Spoiler

"Punctual," she praised, picking one step in front of the other as she walked to them. In their wrestling attires, she could inspect them more closely; she did not hide that she was doing just that as she neared them. They did look strong, but Neith had plans to render that strength useless. Behind her lay an extensive link of traditional blue mats, nearly wide enough to amount to a full ring, plus the aforementioned camera beyond. Outside of a few chairs and the light chill that filled such a large building at night, which Neith had attempted to fight with a small heater she brought from her apartment, the room sat barren. All was prepped, save for their discussion on the rules.

She cast her gaze to Lucy. "I assume you still want to keep these two in line? They could be quite the problem for me otherwise... though I do have some ideas to ensure I have a fair chance. Any opposition to submissions only, gentlemen? I don't have the constitution to be struck."