The War in the Ward

Lydia turned around and caught Lorenza's equipment with a bit of a startled look - she never could quite get used to people tossing things at her. She eased up soon enough, though, and took the equipment back with her to Lorenza's bedside.

She put the mouthguard in first, squeezing it in, nice and tight. Lorenza's mouth was obviously bigger and it wasn't the easiest fit, but it would do. "Tastes familiar." She spoke as best she could with her mouth full, and it wasn't just an idle comment, either. The mouthguard had Lorenza's taste all over it, a flavor Lydia was starting to savor.

Carmen helped Colleen lace up as best she could without any real dexterity to get it done. "Okay, typically, it would be a good idea for you both to tape up. Protect those knuckles." She nodded her head to a roll of tape on her bag that was tucked in the side. "But if you guys start hitting each other so hard that you would really need tape, it's probably best that we just stop, I think."

She looked around Colleen towards her friendly rival. "Any thoughts on the rules?"

Colleen nodded slowly as Carmen helped her to lace up the gloves on her fists, taking in all of the advice that the Puerto Rican boxer was giving her, making sure she remembered it all. She was fighting as Carmenâ€s surrogate, after all, and she needed to know as much as she could if she were to properly represent the silver-medal striker. “Maybe we should tape up, because Iâ€m going to go at her as hard as I can. No holding back when Iâ€m fighting for your honor,” Colleen would say, pounding her gloves together. She savored the taste of Carmenâ€s black mouthguard as it slid into her mouth. If they needed to tape up, they could do it during a break in the action.

Meanwhile, Lorenza would chuckle as she heard Lydiaâ€s comment once the mouthguard would slip into her mouth. She was becoming very, very fond of the tattoo artist, indeed. “It should, sweetie. Youâ€re gonna do great,” she said, before looking back over to Carmen. “Well…letâ€s say standard rules. Break if someoneâ€s knocked down or pinned up against the wall. Other than that, the whole room is fair game. What do you think on rounds?”

Carmen nodded Colleen's way, appreciating her enthusiasm, but still a tad worried. In her experience, people who went straight into the ring tended to hurt themselves more than they hurt anyone else. She'd seen far too many celebrity boxing bouts get a touch too serious, going downhill in a hurry when someone's ego grew too big.

She would enjoy this, but keep close watch as well. Colleen wouldn't be seriously hurt, not if she had anything to say about it. "Flatterer." She gave Colleen's taut stomach a playful slap with the cast.

Lydia moved away from Lorenza and threw a few practice punches. A few jabs, a hook, a straight. Hardly professional material, but not foxy boxy level, either. Carmen watched her form with some interest, remembering the moves. It was hard to tell, but she seemed to be aping Lorenza's combos."

"Rounds, rounds." She folded her arms for a moment, before rolling her head to Lorenza. "Let's say three rounds. Three mintes, each. That's the standard for amatuers, I think. Was when I fought, anyway."

Colleen laughed as her taut, tight tummy was given a little slap. She would bring her gloved fist up to her forehead in a funny salute, then take a few steps away from Carmen so that she had space to begin to work out. She started by shaking out her limbs, stretching them, making sure they were limber and ready for the battle ahead. Then, she started shadowboxing.

It was easy for Lorenza to identify the moves that Colleen was trying to emulate when she glanced over at the lighter-haired girl. Every boxer was unique when it came to exactly which combinations she favored, and there was no doubt that this particular mixture of straights and hooks was Carmen Rodriguezâ€s style. And it wasnâ€t only punching. Colleen started rolling, too, weaving back and forth, bending her body a bit on each pass, trying to perfect Carmenâ€s signature Dempsey Roll. The professional woman had been doing her homework.

“Three rounds, three minutes each. Thatâ€s good. We can just watch the clock and call time, unless you have a better system.” Lorenza nodded to the big clock on the wall above the door. “So, weâ€re good then, right? As far as rules go? Anything else you want to bring up, to me or to them?”

Carmen mulled it over for a moment, then shrugged. "The only thing I can think of is what happens in case we go past the nine minutes - no judges, this time. But we can cross that bridge when we come to it." If they came to it. Carmen was silently betting on Colleen to take it halfway through the second round. Early third, tops. She had surprisingly good moves, bobbing and weaving well, making it look far more organic than many newcomers. Her girl looked rough and ready.

Carmen sat back and eased into the pillow, getting a good look at the 'arena'. "All right, ladies, I want a nice, relatively clean fight." She spoke just like a referee, giving the little pre-match shakedown she'd heard dozens of times. She could probably be a ref, with just a little training. "Watch those rabbit punches, low blows, headbutts. Only want me and Lorenza in hospital beds."

Lydia smacked her gloves together and started to make her way across the room, bouncing on her heels as she came in with her guard up. Seeing Colleen move, she figured it would be best to play it safe on the first round, see what she could do and keep an eye out for mistakes. At the start, anyway. If she saw a weakness, she'd gladly go all out.

Carmen looked between them and back to her rival. "Want to ring the bell?"

Lorenza nodded in agreement. “Sí, sí, no reason to worry about it until it becomes a problem. Lydia is going to knock your girl out in the first round, anyway.” That was perhaps an exaggeration, but Lorenza had no doubt that Lydia would make her proud and prevail over her similarly-sized but inkless opponent. Watching Lydia, she felt a funny sense of pride in the way the tattoo artist emulated her own combinations so closely. She had beaten Carmen with those combinations once. Lydia would beat Colleen with them, too.

Lorenza let Carmen take care of the refereeâ€s speech that their girls needed to hear before beginning the fight. Carmen had it down pat, and Lorenza didnâ€t feel the need to add her own commentary to it. When Carmen asked her if sheâ€d like to ring the bell, Lorenza chuckled, then, clearing her throat, she would declare loudly: “Ding ding!”

As the “bell” sounded, Colleen would move forward, gloves up in front of her face, watching Lydia. She didnâ€t want to be too eager in this first round, but she didnâ€t want to be conservative, either. Honestly, she just wanted to knock Lydia flat on her tattooed ass. Pursuant to that goal, Colleen would start out with a quick jab at Lydiaâ€s gloves, then throw a second one lower, at her chest, trying to test her guard.

Lydia kept her guard in tight, easing towards Colleen with cautious steps. She had a feeling that her prudence would pay off, especially if Colleen was the more aggresive type. She'd seen enough of Lorenza fighting to know how demanding even a single round of boxing could be on the human body, the massive toll it could take in a short time, and how long three minutes could feel in the ring. If she played this right, she could make Colleen do all the work for her.

The jab sliced through Lydia's defenses, but there was hardly any force to it. She wasn't the toughest around, but even she could withstand that, and she was more than able to block the second strike, closing her arms tight to protect her chest. She started to move her arm out, looking like she was readying a punch, but she took a step away at the last moment a short retreat, to see how well Colleen could be lead.

"Don't let her make a gap!" Carmen resisted the urge to sit up. Laying down and giving directions like this just felt fundamentally wrong. Keeping her voice down might've been a good idea, too - the last thing any of them needed was a bunch of concerned nurses busting in. "Keep the pressure on her, seize the momentum. It's all about setting a rhythm, like dancing."

Colleenâ€s exploratory strikes gave her some information about her opponent, though they didnâ€t tell her everything. The fact that her initial jab managed to slip through and bop Lydia in the face told her that her foe was, without a doubt, not a professional. She was going to make mistakes. Mistakes could be exploited, and exploited enough of them would lead to a decisive victory.

But, by that same token, she wouldnâ€t always make mistakes. She would block some punches, and throw some back at Colleen. And would the dirty blonde-haired woman be ready for those when they came?

When Lydia started to throw a punch, Colleen flinched and tucked down behind her gloves. But the punch never came, and instead, Lydia took the opportunity to back up a step and put some distance between the two of them. Colleen heard Carmen calling out to her, telling her to stay close. She would do her best to follow those instructions, stepping quickly forward, moving her body almost all the way into Lydiaâ€s and throwing another jab towards Lydiaâ€s face.

Lorenza would call out instructions, too, equally frustrated as her rival that she had to give them while lying down. “Keep some separation! Pivot one foot back, and youâ€ll have more room to punch! Youâ€re doing good!” Lorenza instructed. Lydia was doing well so far, frustrating Colleenâ€s efforts. She just needed to keep doing that, and expand upon that.

Carmen could see their game, clear as day. A keepaway strategy, not bad for a beginner. Trying to make Colleen mess up and have a fatal error. Good idea. She wasn't going to let it work, but a good idea, all the same.

She looked on as Lydia moved back, blocking Colleen's jab while she retreated and a small smile started to creep along her face. She hadn't been in a real fight since elementary school as far as she could remember, and she certainly never got a thrill like this back then. Lorenza's voice egging her on from the side, a fine, topless woman before her, and quite a bit of time to enjoy both of them. The simple pleasures were the best pleasures.

She felt like her footwork was decent, but this wasn't even close to being a full ring - dancing would only get her so far, and then it would get her clobbered. Keying in on Lorenza's suggestion, she tried for a quick change and looked to gain some ground.

Lydia moved her foot and twisted her body into a straight punch at Colleen's scintillating chest, banking on the sudden switch to offense for a little element of surprise.

Lorenza wanted Lydia to keep leading Colleen on, doing what she had started doing, but also adding in a little offense, a punch here and there to keep the lighter-haired woman honest. That would serve to frustrate Colleen further, and it might just egg her into making a fatal error. But Lydia couldnâ€t back up forever. She would run into a bed, or she would be forced to turn in circles and maybe leave herself open. Lorenza was glad that her girl decided to throw that punch there, as her opponent came in close.

Colleen had moved in close enough that their nipples had brushed against each other, which gave her a little excited jolt. The contact didnâ€t last for long, however, as Lydia pivoted and sent a hard punch into Colleenâ€s chest that made her stagger back. It wasnâ€t devastating, but it hurt. Colleen would rally, however, and, putting her gloves up, she would advance again, throwing another jab at Lydiaâ€s head, then going in low for a hook to her opponentâ€s side.