Audrey's Training day

[MappleMan7]

"For what it's worth, I got started as a young lion after some experience in the indies. It's a place where developing talent gets to grow and learn"

Oscar's face looked surprised for a moment as Audrey opened up some more- the Barbarian Prince looking sympathetic, if not understanding as he got up and went to sit closer to Aurdrey, speaking with a softer tone.

"... I know all too well what thst feeling is like. I used to be the same before I got into wrestling. For me, it was because I didn't want to be a burden on anyone- but trust me when I say that type of thinking isn't going to do you any good. Asking for help isn't a sign of weakness- it is the exact opposite, actually. It's a sign of acknowledging your limits- and in this case, with wrestling, it means you wish to surpass those limits"

Oscar turned to Audrey, smiling warmly as got up and turned around to offer her a hand up.

"So yeah- what I mean is... I got your back, Audrey. I'd be happy to help you out. You don't even need to ask. Now- as much as I'm enjoying talking with you, we still got to work on moves next. How about it? Ready to go ham on a training Dummy?"

[ThurmanMermanPlx]

As Oscar moved to sit closer, Audrey looked up warily, observing carefully, but relaxed again when she realized what he was doing. "Yeah, I... I know that now," she admitted. "But after how long I'd already been active beforehand, considering joining it afterwards felt almost... well, like giving up. Like admitting defeat."

She kept silent after that, smiling weakly in appreciation of Oscar's words, but years of having her thoughts rooted deep in her head gave rise to nagging doubts. But that appreciation for his efforts to console her kept her from bringing it up and dragging down the mood further. Instead, she took his offered hand as he stood and let him pull her to her feet, her expression hardening in anticipation of getting back to work.

"Thank you," she said, smile more genuine, words still soft. "For the motivational speech, for the training, for not beating me to a pulp in the tournament, all of it. I really mean that."

She cleared her throat before speaking again, voice more confident now. "A-anyway, I'm ready. Let's do it. ...What exactly is it we'll be doing, now?"

[MappleMan7]

"Think nothing of it. I'd love a rematch someday to be honest- preferably when you have more experience under your belt"

Oscar beamed at Audrey as he received her thanks, feeling like his heart swelled with joy. He always loved being able to help folks who need it- and hearing the thanks from Audrey made the Barbarian Prince feel like he was doing exactly what he set out to do.

With the sappy stuff out of the way, Oscar went to a ring he reserved- a large mat and a training dummy sitting beside it as he dragged both into the ring.

"Why, we're going to run through some wrestling moves! A mix of you showing me what you know, and learning new ones. Aerial techniques, submission holds, that kind of thing. Feel free to give a demonstration of what you know on the dummy, if you please"

[ThurmanMermanPlx]

"H-heh, yeah," Audrey chuckled, scratching her cheek. "I think it'll be a while until I'm able to give you a proper challenge. But when I'm stronger, you can bet you'll have that rematch!"

Audrey followed Oscar to the practice ring, where he'd set up the training dummy. It looked sturdier than she had hoped... but she bit down her complaint. She wasn't going to get any better by practicing on a stuffed animal.

"Umm... okay." As Audrey climbed into the ring, she debated what to show him first. He hadn't given her any particular direction to start with. But considering she was struggling with even applying submission holds, maybe it made sense to show off something else.

"I've got an idea." Taking a position up against the ropes, she launched herself into a sprint towards the training dummy. As she approached, she jumped forwards into a handstand, barely managing to maintain her balance and not topple over. In the process, she

, hooking one foot across the other. With her balance now eased, she fell back the way she came, flipping the dummy though the air and slamming it down on what would be its back, rolling herself so she was kneeling over it afterwards, legs still hooked behind it.

"So, uh, there's that," she said, running a hand through her hair to flip her ponytail behind her. "It's a lot harder to make use of on a mobile opponent though... and half the time I don't have the leg strength to pull them over, so I end up just... hanging there. Aaaaaand you can guess what happens next..."

[MappleMan7]

Oscar watched Audrey show off one of her moves she knew, giving a ln insightful hum as he gave her a light applause.

"Well, that's what the training is for, right? If you're big on using your legs- I'd recommend following up on that with a headscissors. Plus, you don't technically have to use raw strength to throw someone to the canvas. If you opponent is bigger and heavier, you could try using their own weight and momentum against them. Kind of like a hurricarana"

Oscar's eyes lit up like he got an idea, tapping his chest with his finger.

"Oh! Like me! Question- would you be comfortable practicing moves on me over the dummy? No pressure or anything- but if you're finding yourself facing bigger opponents frequently, maybe I can give some insight as an example?"

[ThurmanMermanPlx]

Audrey bit her lip at Oscar's suggestion. She wasn't really sure why the idea gave her pause. It wasn't like she would actually hurt him. And she was reasonably sure he wasn't out to hurt her. And she wasn't likely to find someone else his size willing to let her throw them around for practice. What had she got to lose?

"Hm... I don't typically use my legs, at least not for holds directly... I have worked on my hurricanrana a bit too, but that's about it. I guess it might help to have some hands-on experience to pinpoint what I'm doing wrong? Or just how to execute it more effectively?"

She looked up at him as she climbed off the dummy, waiting for him to enter the ring with her. "Y-you're not gonna... like, move out of the way and let me crash or something, are ya?"

[MappleMan7]

Oscar would climb into the ring, doing some stretches as he listened to Audrey- noticing her nerves as he curiously tilt his head.

"Huh? Move out of the way? Um... nope! That'd just be, like, super mean to do. I want to help you! Not bully you"

Oscar smiled honestly as he spread his arms out- giving Audrey a firm nod of his head with a confident look on his face.

"Don't worry- you're my pal and I trust you, Audrey! I'm a pretty tough cookie too. Whatever you want to try, I think I can take it! Whenever you're ready, just... do what feels natural and we'll take it from there. I'll give feedback along the way. At the worst I might do a counter or show what an opponent could do to retaliate- but I promise to do so in a way that won't hurt. Sound good to you?"

[ThurmanMermanPlx]

Audrey wasn't entirely convinced by Oscar's first attempt. Sure, it wasn't a match, but she'd been fooled by would-be well-meaning guys before.

His follow-up, however, was much better at settling her nerves. She wasn't even terribly concerned about a counter; that was, in some ways, to be expected. He was supposed to be helping her learn, after all. He said he'd trusted her. Eventually, she was going to need to suck it up and trust him, too. After all, so this point, he'd given her no reason not to.

She took a deep breath before answering. "All right. I guess I'll just... try again?"

Without being entirely sure of what Oscar was expecting, Audrey made it clear she was about to pull the same move on him as she had on the target dummy; it wouldn't be very conductive to learning if she kept changing up what she was doing, and maybe taking the move himself would give him a different perspective for pointers.

So Audrey charged right for him, leaping into her handstand again right in front of him, attempting to lock her legs around his neck and flip him over.

[MappleMan7]

Oscar braced himself as Audrey came at him. When her legs stared around his neck, Oscar responded by straightening his posture- effectively countering Audrey's attempt to flip him using his size and weight. Thankfully Oscar did not follow up with a move of his own and just hummed in thought. His focus on Audrey's podition.

"Hm... ah- ok, yeah- that helped a lot. So- there's two things I can recommend here. First, if you're struggling to flip someone over, put your arms to use and strike the legs. Heck- a hit to the back of the knee is enough to bring anybody down. Second, if you run at your opponent faster and execute your huricanara by twisting your hips in a seated position, you should have an easier time throwing them instead of flipping them over"

[ThurmanMermanPlx]

The move started out perfectly - not that Oscar was going to try to dodge, of course, but normally trying to catch a foe like this with them not stunned or dazed would just land the attacker in trouble. Regardless, Audrey successfully snared Oscar's neck between her legs and reversed her balance to begin to pull him down-

-only for him to counter, by... simply standing up straighter. His rebalancing stole whatever leverage Audrey had been counting on to use against him, effectively leaving her dangling from his neck by her legs, quite awkwardly, in fact. She felt the beginnings of a blush form on her cheeks, in part due to that, but also as a result of the blood rushing to her head. It was infuriatingly simple, how easily he'd stopped her in her tracks without so much as taking a step. But at the same time, he wasn't a champion for nothing. She held on, hanging there for just a while longer, not wanting to miss any part of his explanation.

"Back of the knees, got it." She could do that from here... wrap her arm around his leg and pound him with her fist, right in that tender vulnerable spot. But she wasn't here to play dirty, so she filed the information away rather than acting on it. It was here that she released her legs and let her handstand flip back onto her feet.

"From a... seated position? You mean like... lifting myself up and sitting on your shoulders when I do that, before falling back?"