Forging a Secret Weapon

[CaptainL]

It seemed that Cynara had underestimated just how little Clara knew about the strange new world she had found herself thrust into - but that didn't matter. Mina, at least, could tell what was going on. And she understood enough to know that her mother wouldn't be happy if Clara just lay there taking offense without putting up a fight in return. She whispered some covert advice toward her, and that was all Clara needed to know. Not only would she break the pin, in fact, she would reverse it - grabbing Mina by the shoulders, and pushing off to roll the blonde to the mat and clambor on top of her!

"Nngh..!" Mina winced a little as she fell, and her eyes went wide with surprise. Part of it was her playing it up for the act, but part of it was genuine, too. She wasn't expecting Clara to go that far - but if anything, that was so much more the better. That was a display that she could turn a situation like this to her advantage, and Cynara was surely going to take note!

Sure enough, the former champion looked on at the scene with a grin, nodding her head in approval. "Well done, Clara - well done indeed! Tell me, now, you've got her down underneath you. What are you going to do next?" Clara had the advantage; now, it was up to her to show she could do something with it.

[FreshBritishSalmon]

Little by little, Clara was gaining both knowledge and confidence in her own ability, thanks to Mina's acting and her willingness to help. If anything, she had decided that Mina was her trainer now, and not Cynara. As she found herself back on top once again, she had to decide what to do next.

During the brief downtime between her inaugural contest and this training session, Clara had done a little bit of research into a few moves. She wasn't quite sure when to do them, nor exactly how to do them, but she thought that putting some into action would be a good idea. She leaned down so her torso was flat against Mina's, before attempting to wrap her arms and legs around her partners counterparts, in an attempt to lock in a hold she had seen online, which she had not seen the name of.

[CaptainL]

Now that Clara had Mina at her mercy, Cynara was all the more intrigued to see what she would do with her newfound advantage. In their first match, she had displayed her natural toughness and aggression, which was a good start - but there was only so far that could take her, and she would need to temper that with enough technical know-how to manipulate her opponents' mobility and exploit the force she could exert against their bodies. If she could utilize that against Mina, then she would know there was hope for her yet. It was all up to her now to demonstrate that she was worth the attention.

And to her credit, Clara showed a promising start in tying up Mina's limbs. The blonde grimaced as she felt her opponent's body pressing down against hers from above, weighing her against the mat. But she wasn't intimidated. She could tell, from the way that Clara restrained her, that she didn't have the experience of a seasoned wrestler. She was still feeling out how these holds worked, and how she could best use them. She didn't even have this one fully figured out. The amount of pressure she was exerting against Mina's arms and legs wasn't enough to completely stop her from moving - and Mina was about to show her as much.

"Look," Mina whispered, just loud enough for Clara to hear but to escape her mother's attention. "Just because we're working together doesn't mean I'm going to lay down and let you get away with everything. Mom still wants you to improve, and you can't expect your opponents to be this forgiving..." With that, she pushed herself up from the mat, yanking her arms away from Clara's grasp before grabbing for her shoulders to roll her off.

"Try going after my joints," she added. "They're fragile. And once you get worked there, you'll feel it for the rest of the match."

[FreshBritishSalmon]

Clara was a little confused as her partner mentioned joints. Did she mean to sprain them and make them unusable or to be more aggressive with them? She thought to herself for a second, before diving once more, going for Mina's shoulder and trying to inflict some sort of pain to it. She had no idea what she was doing, just listening to what Mina told her. She told the white haired girl to go for her joints, and her shoulder was a joint.

Clara tried her best to at least look like she was doing, but it was clear to Mina, and possibly to Cynara, that she had no clue what to do, and was just acting on a whim and a prayer at this point.

[CaptainL]

Mina had been in a match with Clara, and she saw what the white-haired girl was capable of. She knew she was committed, and she knew she was all but fearless, undaunted even by the prospect of going up against a champion. But Mina knew her mother, too, and she knew that it was going to take more than that to live up to Cynara's standards. Just because Clara could keep up the fight didn't mean that was enough to cut it, especially if the only offense she was going to dish out was so simple and easily countered. Mina really wasn't the type to do this with her opponents often...but if Clara needed the help, she was willing to pass along the advice.

Sure enough, Clara dove down, grabbing at Mina's shoulder and beginning to crank at it. The blonde hissed through clenched teeth, her face locking up in a grimace. It wasn't that bad, really, but she was willing to play it up - she needed Clara to feel encouraged that what she was doing would work, and more importantly, she needed her mother to be impressed by it. In the midst of it, she looked back at Clara enough to meet eyes with her, giving a short nod to let her know that what she was doing things right. She couldn't say much more - she knew her mother would be paying close attention.

"Not bad, Clara, not bad," Cynara began, nodding her head as she leaned in closer. "A bit...er, amateurish, though. Try getting your fingers around the base of her shoulder. Really crank it. Don't hold back! She wouldn't hold back on you, now, would she?" To that, Mina simply sucked in a gulp and said nothing.

[FreshBritishSalmon]

Now that Clara had a vague idea of what she was doing, and both Mina and Cynara had acknowledged she was doing the right thing, Clara relaxed a little bit. She was finally getting somewhere and, though her technique still needed a lot of work, at least she now had sonething to build off in that department. Cynara's next request was much more simply, to put more oomph into it.

Clara wasn't the strongest member in LAW, not my a long shot, but she could work joints hard if she needed to, and now was one of those times. She gritted her teeth and followed Cynara's orders to the letter, putting her fingers on the vase of her shoulder and putting a lot more power into Mina's arm, though she hoped that she wouldn't injure it accidentally. She gave the slightest nod to Mina to thank her for the advice, before continuing to work on her shoulder. She would continue to do this until Cynara told her to desist.

"Ngh...." Clara grunted, a clear sign she was giving it all she had. Her arms quivered from the pressure, and swear was beginning to form on her face, arms and legs.

[CaptainL]

Cynara knew that Clara had the makings of a decent wrestler in her. She had the aggression; she had the commitment. She was fearless enough to go up against her daughter, knowing her champion status and her fearsome reputation, and not even back down. All she needed was to iron out the kinks when it came to her inexperience. She needed to work on her endurance, and she needed to learn some new moves. But all of that would start now, as Clara grabbed at Mina's shoulder, starting to crank at it.

Mina, for her part, didn't really know what to expect. With how Clara was acting, she was half-expecting her to hold back in order to keep to their truce...which was why it came as a surprise to her when the white-haired girl ave a sharp tug that twisted all the muscles and nerves through her back! "GAH!!" she roared, her eyes squeezed shut and her teeth gnashing as she reeled from the stinging pain. Clara might have been learning still, but she was catching on fast! Even if it hurt, she knew this was exactly what her mother wanted to see - and, gritting her teeth, she looked back at Clara with a whisper. "Don't...stop," she muttered.

But Cynara had been satisfied. Clapping her hands together, she flashed Clara a grin as she nodded her head. "That there is perfect, Clara dear," she said. "You can let go now. But it looks to me like you've got some good grip strength you could use with your holds. That's good. We can work with that. Why don't you try doing it on the other arm? See if you can match that effort reliably..."

Hearing that, Mina looked back at Clara, preparing herself to dodge if Clara came near. They might've been working together, but Mina wasn't throwing this fight - and she knew Mina needed to be prepared for opponents who wouldn't sit still.

[FreshBritishSalmon]

Hearing Cynara's request for Clara to stop made the white haired girl stop immediately, as if Cynara has trained her like a dog. Clara moved away from Mina as her opponent recovered, a slight bit of guilt appearing once she realised that she had hurt her partner for the day. She mouthed "Sorry" to Mina, hoping that Mina wouldn't bear a grudge about it, before Cynara requested her to go for her other arm.

This time, Mina looked more ready to defend herself though, which made Clara think about her next move. She couldn't just rush in, all guns blazing, as Mona could easily counterattack and beat her senseless, but she also couldn't be too defensive.

After a second to think, Clara decided to try something unorthodox. She rushed in, as if going for a charge, but stopped just out of reach of Mina to make her drop her guard early. She then pounced again, trying to tackle Mina to the mat, before hopefully getting a hold of her other arm and working on it, though this time trying not to hurt Mina.

[CaptainL]

Cynara raised an eyebrow to Clara's reaction, seeing how meekly she shrank back when she gave her the cue to change up her tactics. The look on her face remained as cold and calculating as ever, keeping watch of her every motion. Now, she just needed to see how Clara would respond - that would tell her all she needed to know about her attitude, and how she could give her the right push to influence her in all the ways she needed to have the perfect weapon at her disposal. She could see that she was hesitant about disappointing her manager. That was good - submissiveness; deference to authority. It meant that she was malleable. That she could be influenced - that Cynara could mold her into just what she needed her to be. But she wasn't going to let her guard down just yet. Anything could happen next - she just needed to see how Clara would respond to it.

With the two girls getting back to their feet, Mina bent a little closer in Clara's direction, keeping her arms out at the ready and her knees bent. Whatever Clara had to throw at her next, she would be ready. And that, too, was part of the test - in this moment, Cynara was watching for how Clara might be able to take Mina by surprise and ambush her when she was already prepared for her. In that regard, Clara wouldn't disappoint.

She came charging toward Mina - and sure enough, the tension in the blonde's body broke at the sight. She lunged a little bit forward, her arms snatching at the air in front of her. But they only hit the air - because right at the last moment, Clara had stopped! Mina only had a second to look back up at her sparring partner, blinking a few times in bewilderment. But it was already too late - Clara pounced then and there, taking her to the ground before she had a chance to recover!

From there, the white-haired girl took Mina by the arm, wrenching it into her grip. It didn't hurt, but Mina was willing to play along with the act; her face contorted into a wince, and she growled under her breath, tossing her head from side to side to make it look like Clara's hold was more painful than it really was. Unfortunately...it didn't seem that would be enough to impress Cynara.

"That's a good start, Clara," she began, "But surely, it's too predictable to use the same holds every time? Let's see you try something a little more...inventive. Let's see if you can make her scream."

Mina glanced up at Clara. This, she knew, would be a tough one. Sure, she could pretend to be in pain as much as she liked...but would it live up to her mother's demanding standards?

[FreshBritishSalmon]

Despite Clara's best efforts, Cynara wasn't fully impressed, which saddened Clara slightly. As she got Mina's arm locked in place, she was instructed to try and do something different to Mina in order to make her scream. It was at this point that Clara stopped and thought. She didn't move, aside from breathing and blinking, and the occasional shudder. The fact of the matter was, she didn't know anything she COULD do. She simply looked at Cynara, shook her head, and then stepped off of Mina, releasing her. She then walked off the mat and walked to the wall, leaning, then sitting on it, before putting her arms on her knees and resting her head on those.

Clara was getting annoyed by how little she actually knew, and how seemingly helpless she actually felt. If it wasn't for Mina helping her, Cynara would likely have ditched her, knowing how bad she truly was.