Not Cold Enough

Bonnie Gastin, despite more or less befriending Yi Lan and sort of setting out to defend and protect the girl from the obvious twisted influence of Jocelyn. That girl was playing with Lan's mind, getting her emotions all twisted and knotted up with affection, and the little girl was far too frail to defend herself when Jocelyn got out of hand and started abusing her. Yi Lan just seemed like she needed some help and Bonnie wanted to do that, even if that meant making the girl leave AFW for good, it would be in her best interest, for her overall health.

What Bonnie couldn't do was FORCE Yi Lan to leave. She didn't want to go and Bonnie brought that little girl to tears and sobs in an effort to get her gone. Bonnie couldn't do it, she cried alongside Yi Lan, unable to scare the girl off would stood there and took it while Bonnie made her cry. It made Bonnie feel guilty, like a bully, a straight up asshole who was no better than Allison and Jocelyn.

She tried to make it up to Yi Lan, letting the girl stay at her place for a while. Bonnie in the meantime wanted to deal with Jocelyn and Allison... Perhaps for Yi Lan's sake she might not beat Jocelyn into a hospital bed, but she knew for a fact she wasn't to get back at Allison... The only problem was the fact she needed Yi Lan out of AFW and Japan and she wasn't gone yet.

So Bonnie needed to make a deal with the 'Ice Queen' herself. She was anxious and nervous when she got out of her truck, slamming the door closed and practically rushing inside at a brisk pace like she was in a hurry, walking right past Amy and Cathleen, but not before giving them the friendliest smile she could muster.

"Hiya girls." Bonnie chripped while she strolled down that familiar hallway towards Allison's office. "She's here right? I'll just be a minute!" Bonnie said hastily, she had so much urgency in her mind she didn't bother to ask the girls if Allison was even in...

"A-Al.... Watson! It's me! Bonnie Gastin! I need ta' speak with ya! It's important!" Bonnie said as she knocked on the door firmly, her voice not loud enough to make a giant dramatic scene, but enough to be heard loud and clear.

Sukiyo expressionlessly watched Bonnie stride past and head straight for the spa doors. She picked up the phone on the desk, and a moment later she followed after the brash Texan.

Her feet padded noiselessly in soft shoes on the long runner carpet in the pristine, impressive hallway. Her choice of footwear carried over from her former occupation as a dancer, and she moved with a measured grace that was both artful and entirely Japanese. She rounded the corner at the end of the hallway and approached Bonnie as she stood at Allison's office door.

"Ms Watson is presently unavailable," she said quietly, her face characteristically inexpressive. Her Japanese accent carried through her voice, though she had learned to speak English with an English accent. "May I help you?"

Bonnie was so fixated in waiting to ear the Brit's voice that when she heard someone else spoke up from behind her, she practically jumped out of her sneakers with a sudden yelp. Hastily though, she turned around to see a Japanese woman standing in front of her, telling her that Ms. Watson was presently unavailable. Bonnie lowered her heard and bit her lip, giving an quiet 'Dammit' under her breath.

"Yeah I really needed to talk with Allison 'cause its real urgent. Need to speak with her in private and stuff. Any idea when she might be back?" Bonnie stated to and asked the Japanese Woman, who also seemed nice like her coworkers. Again, how such nice girls were working for Allison was beyond Bonnie's comprehension.

"Mm. I see."

Sukiyo raised one hand to brush a long lock of hair out of her face and tuck it behind her ear. Her thick, luxurious, ebony mane was pulled back in a loose bun, with only a few strands left loose. She remained still while her dark eyes impassively surveyed the blonde.

"It is recommended that you make an appointment. Ms Watson is very busy. Also, we presently are entertaining guests, and I would not like to disturb them at any point during their stay."

The rooms were all completely soundproofed, and each sound present in each room was entirely deliberate. However, Sukiyo did not want for a guest, when leaving the peace of their chosen room, to have to endure an encounter with the barbaric, loud-mouthed American.

"Would you like to accompany me back to the salon, so that I can find Ms Watson's nearest availability?"

Bonnie felt her heart sink as this woman explained to her that Allison was busy and that an appointment was needed, this woman with fine luscious dark hair, while Bonnie herself had been unable to sleep ever since bringing home Yi Lan, her eyes had clear dark bags and her hair was messy behind her pony tail, stands of blonde coming over her face. She really didn't want to bother with anyone else, nevermind what Allison thought of but now she was a tad bit embarrassed in front of Sukiyo.

"Ah." Make an appointment, and she had guests. Bonnie felt a bit silly but THIS was needed. She had to do this and even a little bit of racket was going to happen. Especially if Allison and herself were in the same dang building. But Bonnie couldn't leave, whether or not she decided to go home or to the arena to call out Jocelyn and let her know she couldn't have Yi Lan, Bonnie ultimately HAD to speak with big bad Allison Watson.

But she didn't want to stay and wait.

"Sure." Bonnie said to Sukiyo before letting out a long shaky sigh, she wasn't so nervous now. She felt like any time she stepped in this spa, she expected some sort of trap.

Sukiyo led Bonnie back down the hall to the salon in the front of the building, floating down the carpet with her beautiful dancer's stride. Each step seemed easy and relaxed and placed just so, as if even walking down the hall was a performance.

When she reached the front desk, she picked up a tablet and began to swipe her way through a series of menus. "One moment, please, while I check Ms Watson's next availability..."

More swiping. Some typing. Her face almost imperceptibly changed. Finally, she looked up at Bonnie, unsmiling, as her face did not require one.

"Ms Watson will see you now," she said. "She currently in one of our spa rooms. I will show you to the room, but first, please check your phone and any personal electronics you may be carrying. We pride ourselves on providing a unique experience for all of our guests, yourself included." She gestured to the desk, indicating for Bonnie to leave her things there.

Bonnie followed Sukiyo as the woman took long elegan strides back down the hall. Bonnie's steps were not as elegant, her's were clearly more rougher, a bit more masculine but she was certaintly no butch. She took the term 'Tomboy' with pride afterall!

"Oookay." Bonnie replied to the woman, whistling in front of the front desk as she admired the scenery around her before she saw Sukiyo lift up her head and show her unsmiling face, telling the country girl that Ms. Watson would see her now. Bonnie raised an eyebrow at the statement immediately, furrowing her brow at the lady while putting her hands on her hips. "But I thought you said she wasn't..." Then Bonnie stopped herself, bit her tongue and listed to the woman's instructions, feel a slight chill run up her spine when Sukiyo told her to leave her things behind.

Bonnie bit her lip. "Uhmmm..." She pulled out her phone and eyed it. "Okay." Said suddenly but not before sending a quick, hasty text to her lover and her brother. Should anything happen to her while she was here with Ms. Watson. This woman couldn't be trusted at all. Hell the last time she was here the bitch had a fucking gun!

Hitting send, Bonnie left her phone on the desk for Sukiyo.

"Right this way," Sukiyo said, and led Bonnie back down the hall at a brisk but unhurried pace. She stopped at the second door on the right, set back from the corridor in a small alcove. It was sturdy, secure-looking, and old. Sukiyo unlocked it with an antique key, and it swung open slowly.

The room inside appeared to be completely dark, and silent, and the air faintly hinted at the smells of fire and spice and salt.

Sukiyo stood to the side and gestured for Bonnie to enter. "This is Ms Watson's personal favorite. It will take some getting used to." She waited for Bonnie to enter, and then pulled the door shut behind her.

Inside, the room felt heavy and thick. Slowly, as Bonnie's eyes adjusted, she saw that it was lit, but only by a hooded oil lamp on a table next to a high backed chair. The room itself was small, and not at all spacious. It seemed to swaddle the guests in a sleepy, claustrophobic comfort. The illusion of silence was created by managing natural air currents from the neighboring sun room, and the unseen stream that ran from the adjacent stone room to the opposite water room. There was a second pair of high backed chair and table on the opposite side of the room, and between them was a couch with a long table. A round rug lay on the floor in the middle.

Allison sat in the chair on the far end of the room, under heavy darkness and almost completely still while she watched the blonde adapt to the room. She couldn't help but smile.

"So nice to see you again, Bonnie," she said. "Please, make yourself comfortable any way you'd like."

"Oh... Great." Bonnie said dryly, swallowing a bit as she stepped inside the room, darkness coming up behind her as it sealed, feeling her stomach sink the moment it did. She hadn't been in a cage match before but right now she got an idea of what it was like, as she felt she was just trapped in here with Allison. This dark room with low visibility save for a small hooded oil lamp in this clearly small room. It had an air of tranquil peace about it, it would be cozy if it wasn't scary. The fact that a shark was resting in this little pond made Bonnie not want to swim here, she was nervous, enough to make her quickly form the sign of the cross, kissing her hand as she muttered amen. Asking for strength and safety, for she was walking near blind into a lion's den.

Bonnie stood her ground, leaning back against the door as she eyed the room, spotting two chairs, a couch, two tables and a round rug. Surely they looked comfy, and being here made Bonnie want to sleep a little, but she might as well beg Allison to toy with her again if she did that.

Finally she heard the Brit's familiar velvety voice, sending a slight shiver down Bonnie's spine. Barely able to see the woman at all, though she sensed she was sitting down in front of her, opposite side of the room.

"I'm comfortable standin'. I ain't plannin' on stayin' long." Bonnie said firmly, trying her hardest to sound tough and unphased.

"Whatever you'd like..." Allison's voice spilled out of the dark like rich wine. "But darling, you're so tense. This is no place for tempers and tantrums and tough-sounding words... This is a very special place. It's my favorite. It's our least booked room, in fact. It's not for everybody. Some find it relaxing, and it is. It's a magnificent creation.

"Some people, some very loyal customers, talk about certain sorts of spiritual experiences that only happen here. I know... exactly what they mean." She sighed. "Others don't like it. Uneasy minds need the comfort of constant distraction. It's a sort of identity crisis, really. It's one thing to know who you are, it's another to embrace it. Like little Yi Lan, for example."