Showing the ropes (and something more) - For Galactic Thing

[Galahad]

Anne had noticed how most of the facilities had Salem impressed, but when the newcomer saw the giant swimming pool her eyes widened and shone with passion. She was positively enthralled by it and expressed it properly. “Well, you can swim here to your heart’s content!” said Anne cheerfully encouraging Salem to do so. “Maybe if I had known you liked swimming so much I would have left this for last.”, she chuckled at her inexperience as a tourist guide. “The final part of our visit is through here. If you would follow...”, she said inviting Salem to exit from the door they arrived and taking the final hallway they hadn’t walked yet.

The final door led to a different kind of exercising area. It was full of different mats and even had two fully equipped rings. There were different kind of punching and martial arts bags hanging from the structure. “Well, this is pretty self explanatory but this is the second part of the exercise area. First we saw the machines and weights area and here we have the spar area. Here you can vent some righteous fury after a bad day with any of the bags or relax with a little yoga in any of the mats. Of course you can also bring a training partner and engage in proper spar, as you can see they even have two rings in there to practice some of the crazy high flying moves, but personally I’m too scared of those...” With another movement of her hands Anne pointed at different doors to the side of the room. “Once again we have small private areas with mats. Some people would rather train alone there, and some others would like some more… ‘private’ kind of training if you get what I mean. Once again the rule of lock applies: as long as the door isn’t locked you’re invited to watch or join. People tend to be pretty nice in here, moreso out of the ring so expect people to be sociable in here.” Anne shrugged noticing how the visit was over. “So, that’s our gym. What do you think of it? You won’t lose yourself anymore now that you have learnt the layout of everything!”

[Galactic Thing]

"I'm not that experienced with swimming but I'm trying to build my strength!" Salem explained, "I've heard swimming is a really good full body workout, plus it seems so fun to do it as one. Just gotta find the time for that with my other reguments..."

For a moment she became lost in the thought, her audible words transitioning to just thoughts. Maybe I could swim on Sundays? Adding another day to my regiment would be insane when i start matches though...

Yet again, she was pulled away from her internal debate and forced to pay attention. Following Anne, she marched like a little pink haired toy soldier. Much to her delight, their final destination was in fact a sparring and training room! As her guide explained, Salem trotted in, paying as much attention as she could whilst geeking out over all the equipment. "I can't wait to properly spar and train! Wow, it's been so long!" In reality, Salem wrestled last week, but she was an insatiable star.

Sliding into the ring with surprising grace that she hadn't displayed so far, she went to inspect the ropes, turn buckle and other elements. She took special notice of Anne's mention of high-flying moves and her fear of doing them. "Oh I get that, sometimes when I climb the corner I hesitate no matter how many times I do it!"

"Thank you for this Anne! I'll probably still get lost every so often...but you really helped me out girl!" Salem leaned on the ropes in the ring, her arms crossed on the top rope, which propped her head. Giving Anne a bright smile, she felt properly welcomed here at LAW.

[Galahad]

The spar area surely wasn’t as impressive as the pool and saunas, but it was pretty well equipped with top-notch looking mats and two full-size rings, truly an impressive sight for anyone who came from smaller leagues or that was what Anne thought at least since LAW was the first wrestling federation to employ her, but as fas as she knew it was leagues apart anything else out there. Salem looked excited about the facilities and even mentioned that it had been too long since she last wrestled. This piques Anne’s interest because the way the pink haired woman slipped inside the ring and thoroughly inspected it hinted that she was a quite-experienced wrestler. Anne wasn’t sure about what kind of person Salem was when approaching her, but in some way she expected her to be new to the wrestling world but what made most sense was for LAW to get experienced and quality wrestlers for its roster.

Salem casually leaned on the top ropes while thanking Anne for the help. The woman looked sincere and Anne had to admit she took a liking to her enthralled, enthusiastic attitude. “You go, girl! I don’t wanna hear about you getting lost and wandering the halls now!” In some way she didn’t want that reunion to be over, so she decided to push her luck. “So, what are your plans for the rest of the morning? Because I admit I got pretty curious seeing how you handled yourself on top of the ring right now. Would you be up for some spar study? But don’t feel pressured to say yes, I’m okay with anything!”, she quickly said realizing that her proposal might be received as pushy.

[Galactic Thing]

Even just the word 'spar' was enough to completely capture Salem's attention. She was almost not listening to Anne as she spoke until then, most of her focus spent on inspecting the ring and other equipment here. But, that single word was not dissimilar to the reaction one would get from daring to mutter 'treat' in front of their pet. "You want to spar!?" she snapped her head to Anne, and leaned on the ropes as she stood outside them. "It's been WAY too long since I've gotten a chance to go at it with someone!"

Salem's enthusiasm was boiling over the edge, and she couldn't even sit still anymore. Smiling from ear to ear, her feet almost started to stamp in excitement. Anne seemed like ana amazing woman, and she felt honored enough already having her be a guide. But, to get the chance to even casually wrestle with her...? She was practically about to get on her knees and beg! Whilst she was grateful to be at LAW after everything that happened back in the states, it was hard to not feel frustrated with the lack of action before her official debut. This was an opportunity to finally get that adrenaline kick and feeling of the ring she so longed for, especially against someone that looked experienced her like Anne did!

[Galahad]

Hearing the word ‘spar’ absolutely captivated Salem. The woman’s eyes sparkled while she asked Anne for confirmation concerning the spar request, as if she wanted to make sure she had heard well. The newcomer’s enthusiasm was contagious, and seeing her excitedly fidgeting inside of the ring made Anne display a bright smile. She liked that one already. “Of course! Since our guide-visitor relationship is over why don’t we build a new one as gym buddies!” Saying this, Anne would slip below the lower rope and make it to the ring where she hopped in place to regain some of her heartrate up before the proper spar started, feeling a little interested to see what Salem was about in a ring.

“Oh, and be mindful that I had a match just two nights ago, so I’m still a little sore from that, so let’s just make a cool, study-spar. Let’s counter some locks and throws and learn from each other, right?”, she said while still hopping in place. “So what would you like to practice first?”, she offered her newly found sparring partner (maybe a friend?) the first turn.

[Galactic Thing]

Salem forced herself to pay attention, trying not to focus on what was about to happen and more so on Anne's words. She repeated them in her head, mostly to calm her down and reduce her expectations. It was just sparring, not a full match and the Shooting Star would slowly reduce in frantic excitement. Her eyes would even close for a moment, opening once she was more prepared. "Alright, sorry gotta not be so crazy since you're sore, I don't wanna aggravate anything!" Salem understood the risk in pushing yourself too far, and considered herself lucky to even have the opportunity to have herself a potential gym buddy!

At Anne's question, she pondered for a moment, genuinely not sure. Maybe she didn't think this far, or the list was far too vast to comb through. Eventually though, she landed on one, "Maybe you could help me practice some post-whip options? I still struggle with those once they figure out my only option..." Salem would scratch her head, thinking of all the times that very option would be met with either a strike, slam, or worse.

[Galahad]

Anne made herself comfortable in the ring by hopping a little in place to get her body back to activity after the relaxed stroll around the premises. That could be a simple spar and study session but she was going to need to be in shape for that since it meant practicing and taking holds and throws. Salem looked like she was finding her center as well just after showing her concern about Anne’s physical state after her match. “Don’t worry, I will be okay, just a little sore on certain spots but I can take it.” The redhead avoided any kind of mention to the match or its outcome since she didn’t want to be thought of as smug or pretentious.

Given the first turn, Salem wanted to practice post-whip options, and Anne found it a pretty suitable starter. “Oh yeah, whipping doesn’t leave you much choice to mount a strategy so most times we go for the obvious, but we need to keep ourselves unpredictable or our rivals would make counterstrategies against us!” Validating her sparring partner’s concerns and after testing the ropes Anne walked towards Salem. “So, let’s practice some. One whips the other, then calls the move and we execute it, okay? You go first!”, said Anne offering her arm to Salem, ready to get whipped against the ropes.

[Galactic Thing]

As Anne explained her warning a bit further, Salem smirked, clearly readying a little quip to throw out. Jokingly flexing a bicep, which barely bulges despite her efforts, she comments, "Only a little sore? You must be one TOUGH gal huh? Bet you kicked butt out there!" For Anne's sake though, she'd leave it at that, focusing more so on their upcoming practice.

"Alright? So, it's: whip, call, and execute. Got it!" Salem verbally recited Anne's plan for their post whip drill, ready to experiment with some more options. First thing's first though, she wanted to really warm up with something slightly more familiar but she felt rusty with. Grabbing Anne's hands firmly, Salem plants her feet. "Let's do this...hngh!" She yanks Anne's arm, letting her pass to whip her into the ropes!

Before the Phoenix would reach the ropes, Salem voice would call out behind her. "Hurricana, Anne!" The Shooting Star felt more confident in this move than her next one, but didn't want to screw up her first drill whatsoever. Her feet shuffling and her stance widened, waiting for her to return. When she did, she'd leap high into the air displaying an impressive standing vertical, legs wrapping around Anne's head! Then, almost falling backwards she'd reverse the momentum using gravity to slam her back down!

[Galahad]

Anne wasn't completely new to these kinds of study-sparring sessions despite Salem being her first proper spar partner. The redhead had practiced this kind of training for some time with her coaches and if anyone cared about her opinion she would say it was the best way to quickly develop the know-how and the actual physical skill to both execute and take any moves. Calling the move before executing it made it easier for the receiving part to minimize the impact of it while maintaining the move's authenticity.

After some instants of both participants mustering their focus Salem whipped Anne against the ropes with some decent strength. Everything went smooth and the redhead bounced on the ropes and heard the call for a huricanrana. "Wait, what?", was the only thing Anne had the time to think. Seeing Salem as a rookie the redhead was expecting something simpler in execution but a huricanrana? It wasn't as if she had time to express her hesitance and if she stopped or relented at that moment someone could get injured. In the midsts of Anne's doubts Salem perfextly executed the move and the Phoenix went from running forwards to having Salem's legs over her head to then flipping forward and hitting the mat.

Lying on her back for a while, Anne was bamboozled by Salem's display of skill. That woman was clearly not a rookie and at that moment the realization came to Anne that even if she was Salem's senior at LAW the pinkette had been wrestling for way longer than her. "Wow, and here I was expecting a dropkick!", she said enthusiastically while getting up. Anne wasn't one to ger butthurt when she was honestly bested or to get in toxic competitions. When someone surprised her with their skills she was open about it and Salem had done just that. "That was a great huricanrana. Now you have to teach me how to get that one right before we go at it again, if you're okay with that..."

[Galactic Thing]

Breathing deeply, the pink haired high flyer calmed down. The hurricana went off PERFECTLY, and she couldn't be even prouder with herself. Granted, she knew it was a long way to go to actually impress her sparring partner, but she'd- 'Huh...?' she thought, wondering if she heard her correctly amidst her own rambling thoughts.

Anne's words brought back that excited look and she nearly jumped to her feet as well. "Well, I could've done one but I really wanted you to see what if I could do that after quite a bit of time off! There's a few others I wanted to do but starting off with something still familiar but still a little difficult was the better choice I think. So thank you Anne I really hope..." She was speaking a mile a minute, her volume decreasing with every word until she was barely understandable. Thankfully, Anne would interrupt with the request to be taught that.

The question was like putting a pipe wrench in an overclocked mesh of gears and other clockwork. She sputtered, brain processing the words, "W-Wait really?" Salem couldn't believe someone like her, a bonafide LAW wrestler, would be looking to take pointers from her! But, she wouldn't stay flustered for long, giving her own cheeks a gentle slap to snap her out of it. "Absolutely! It's all about momentum, and more so how you use it. When your opponent comes running they're carrying a lot of it, so I jump just enough to get the height to land on their shoulders and lock. From then, I simply let them carry me, using what leg strength I can to perform the flip. If you want, we could do a run and you could try it out!" Somehow, the Shooting Star looked even happier than when they started, clearly eager to flip the script and give Anne a lesson after all the information she'd been bestowed so far.