Wild Animals

Taylor shook her head, and her voice took on the authoritative, slightly preachy, instructional tone that she used in training. "Then you need to figure something else out. Figure out how to use what you've got, and start learning new stuff. Don't ever label yourself, because then you'll never try to be anything but that thing. Like, when I started, I was just a loud-mouthed high flyer girl, sort of, but I didn't think of myself like that. Then I was just some loud-mouthed brawler. Now it's not so simple to just sum me up with a few words."

"It is for me!" Cassie laughed, as the food arrived. "Oh..." She began to make room for Gemma's Indian curry, her own Japanese curry, and Taylor's peppers and stir fry. "Well, you could just call me a submission girl, and you wouldn't be wrong. I can do other stuff, too, but I've never won a pro wrestling match by anything other than submission. So... if you're in a match with me, watch for submissions."

Taylor nodded, but was quick to refute what she thought was Cassie selling herself short. "Right, but it's how you set them up, too. You're not going into a match like it's jiujitsu competition, right? Like, if you want to be at the top level, you've got to be able to deal with everything, and have an answer for it. Step one is to stop beating yourself."

The two became silent as they dived into their food. Taylor had for most of her life been totally unable to eat in front of strangers or in tense situations, but she had come a long way toward overcoming that. She didn't hold back and ate quickly, though she made sure to be quick with her napkin and tried not to come off like a slob. Cassie, on the other hand, happily plowed down her curry without a second thought.

"So there's been some talk of a dojo..." Cassie said, bright-eyed, if only to lead Taylor into that conversation. Once Taylor swallowed took a drink of water she picked it up.

"Oh, yeah. Try one of these, they're my favorite," she nudged her shishito peppers towards Gemma. "Me and my manager and Bear and some people want to start, like, a gym, or a dojo, or like... I dunno. We can hand-pick people, new people or people we like to help prepare for matches and to teach and train and stuff, and we're thinking of doing living space right in Tokyo for everyone to stay in. I wouldn't because I live in Hamamatsu, and I'm married, so bunking with my Johnny with the rest of the girls would just be bad for everybody. But yeah, maybe that's something you'd be up for, I dunno."

Cassie didn't say anything, and only glanced from Gemma to Taylor to her food with an inscrutable, happy little smile.

Gemma nodded, as she listened. She was so entranced, she barely noticed the server returning, with their plates. As the conversation lulled, however, as the girls backed up to allow room for their plates, Gemma was roused from her thoughts. The scent of the various curries, the peppers and the stir fry wafted into Gemma's nostrils. Immediately, she became acutely aware of how hungry she had been.

Still, her head was swimming, in thought. Had she been crippling herself, with her labeling? "You bring up a really good point,” the Brit said, as the plates were being settled, around them. “Marketing oneself was sooooo utterly important, in 'indie' promotions. They tell fans there's a 'daring and pretty high-flyer' set to perform, fans get a little more excited to buy a ticket. On the other hand, this is AFW, not an indie. Promotion isn't the most important thing, anymore.

“And thinking back on my matches, now, there's been more than a couple of times I've tried to pull a springboard move, or head up to the top rope, without thinking it through, first. And it bites me in my lily white bum, every single time. So … I guess there's really no point to me 'being' any single thing, anymore, huh?”

Gemma excitedly unwrapped her silverware, as the server refilled her water. She began to stir her curry with her fork. “So long, since I've had decent food,” she muttered, absent-mindedly. The Brit plucked a single kidney bean off of her plate, took a quick sniff, and stuck it into her mouth. Gemma gave a tight little grin, looking to her dinner companions with excitement. Measured and poised, the Brit was trying her best to maintain a dignified appearance, while indulging herself.

As the conversation turned to the subject of the dojo, however, Gemma almost forgot about the food. Still smiling politely, Gemma's fork tentatively poked at the shishito pepper, as she listened to Taylor. “A sort of live-in gym, then?” she asked, tentatively. Gemma leaned in, clearly intrigued by the idea, but her furrowed brow in a way that betrayed some hesitation. The idea of living with the other wrestlers, really committing herself to improving with the added pressure of living up to the expectations of hands-on trainers? It seemed like a massive commitment.

While she thought, Gemma sank her fork into the bright green pepper that Taylor had offered. “Thank you," she said, quietly, as she thought. The other side of the issue, though … There was one thing she wanted to do, a single goal that had her living in Japan, at the moment. Spending her nights having meals that ranged from politely-offered curry with friends in swanky restaurants, to being force-fed dog food in a ring by women that hated her. More than anything, Gemma wanted desperately to be better.

Lifting the pepper to her mouth, Gemma nodded. “You know, that sounds rather amazing, really,” she said. “Sounds like something you'd have to give a huge squalling commitment to. For you lot, and for everyone that signed on. The rewards of it would be totally worth it, though. I mean, not to focus on myself -too- much, but it's pretty bloody obvious that living with a full-time training group would be far more beneficial than my current training style. 'Gym-match-cry-gym-tape-cry-repeat.' I mean, I could probably stand to do a bit better than that.”

Taking a bite of the pepper, Gemma grinned. “That is delicious, thank you!” she said, after rolling the sweet green pepper around in her mouth, a bit. “Honestly, I've just sat down to dinner, with you two, and I feel like it's given me a world of things to sit down and think about. She said, sounding like a total bum-kisser. Still, a full-time gym situation, if that were to come about, would be something on an entirely different level, I'd imagine. You've already clearly got your 'teacher voice' down, after all. So,if you were asking, I would be totally up for such a thing.” Between the delicious food and the course of the conversation, Gemma's shoulders seemed to be rising and falling a bit, as the young woman tried to contain her excitement.

"Kinda like that, yeah," Taylor nodded. "That's awesome, though. We've only talked about it, it isn't actually a thing right now, but we're really excited about it. It's like... more than a live-in gym, though. We'd be mentoring fighters. Do you know Junko? She's really awesome at that. She's my manager, and my mother-in-law."

"We're gonna have a draft," Cassie beamed. "I'm getting little profiles together on Friction wrestlers that might meet the criteria. So far for instructors, we have Taylor and Akashi Tanikaze, and me, I guess. I can teach submissions, but I still need a lot of help with pro wrestling!"

Taylor grinned back at Cassie, and then the two were silent again while they ate.

Gemma nodded eagerly, trying to sneak little fork-loads of curried kidney beans into her mouth as she listened to Taylor. She wanted to give the veteran her undivided attention. However, with the taste of that amazing sorochi pepper on her lips and the scent of the curry wafting up to her nose, Gemma was suddenly and starkly reminded of just how hungry she actually was.

Gemma nodded, at what the girls had to say. “Haven't met Junko, no,” she said, “but that does sound like an interesting set-up. The thought of full-time, hands-on training, with a gym full of people and expert trainers, is … It's a sliiiight smidgen intimidating, but I can definitely see the benefits.”

She couldn't help but giggle good-naturedly, however, as she watched Cassie beam. “A draft sounds like a solid plan,” she nodded. “Gives me even more motivation to shore up my skills, in the ring. And probably start hitting the gym, a bit more. I'd love to be able to pass muster, for something like that. When and if it gets going, and all. Also, I'd be delighted to learn anything you had to teach about submission moves, Cassie. Well, except the screaming and tapping out parts. I think I've got those bits down, really.” The Brit gave a wry, if self-conscious, smirk.

Tucking in, Gemma began to turn a few things over, in her mind. Part of her worried she'd been a bit presumptive. Tagging along for dinner, asking so many questions about possible plans from colleagues whom she'd only just met. She tucked into her plate, eagerly. Gemma did her best to retain some class, at the table, despite her hunger. More and more, it was clear to Gemma that she indeed had a much easier time of things, back home. She wasn't willing to call it “coddled,” quite yet, but it was still an all-new world, out here. Her brow furrowed, as she worried about being up to the task.

Cassie swallowed a bite. "And I'd love to teach you! I love teaching. Out of my whole family, I'm definitely the worst at it," she laughed.

"Well, dude, it seems kinda like you're new and you've still only got one foot in. You need to get better, so learn. Figure out what you can give up to help make yourself a better fighter. Figure out how far you're willing to go. Learn as much as you can from everyone you can find, and work hard, figure out how to work better, and the confidence will come. And the wins. It sounds pretty simple, but it's really hard," Taylor said in her authoritative, experienced instructor voice, and then wolfed down her last shishito pepper while Cassie finished off the rest of her curry.

"So..." Cassie leaned back in her chair and glanced back and forth between Taylor and Gemma. She liked to watch how people acted when they were busy with something else. "I'm really glad we met, Gemma. And who knows, maybe we'll see more of you later. Junko has access to wrestlers' contact information, so she'll be able to find you if they do the dojo."

"Yeah," Taylor said from behind her bowl of stir fry. "I'm interested to see what you've got."

Gemma laughed lightly, at Cassie. “I'm sure you've got more than enough to pass one, though,” she said, taking little bits of the remains of her curry and sipping them off of a spoon. Her demeanor grew far more serious, however, when Taylor addressed her, again.

The veteran was laying down a lot for her, tonight, and Gemma listened attentively to each and every word. As the last few kidney beans made their way from the plate to the Brit's lips, she didn't break eye contact from Taylor. The movements were well-practiced, polite and deliberate, Gemma's composure flawless as she finished off her meal. Her brow was furrowed, however, the wheels turning as she tried to take in every bit of wisdom that Taylor was offering her.

And the wheels were turning, with as much as Taylor was giving her, to think about. Part of Gemma was embarrassed, thinking of how she'd just expected to wander into AFW and get rolling. She was a bit intimidated, felt even a slight bit condescended to. Much more than that, however, Gemma knew that Taylor was right. She really needed to be thinking more. Thinking of how she could improve, where her limits were, studying everyone and everything she could, to get better. It was intimidating, but at the same time thrilling. And besides, the rookie hoped desperately that Taylor was right, about the wins and the confidence coming along, after that.

She snapped out of it, a bit, when Cassie spoke up, again. “I do hope we run into each other again, Cassie. It's been lovely meeting the two of you, tonight,” she said. As Gemma smiled, her shoulders bunched up, around her neck. The Brit could hardly express how grateful she was, that she'd finally gotten to speak to fellow AFW wrestlers in less … violent circumstances, than usual. Let alone to have it going so well.

“Feel free to contact me, anytime,” Gemma said, taking a sip of her water. “Besides, I do owe you both a dinner, at least. This has been quite lovely, first really nice meal I've had, since coming to Japan.” Gemma sat up, a bit, when she heard Taylor's last bit. Self-conscious, Gemma's cheeks turned a little red. “I-I'd love to show you, sometime,” she said, trying to shake off the momentary intimidation. “I really would, actually. There anything in particular you had in mind? Maybe I should shoot you a text, before my next match?”

Taylor kept her wallet below the table so as not to show off the cash she carried around. She discretely pulled out a wad of bills, enough to cover the bill with a generous tip, folded it over, and tucked it to the side of her plate. She nodded to Gemma.

"Yeah, man. If I can, I'll be there. If not, I'll try to catch it on TV. But really I'm more into getting my hands on you to see what you're made of."

"You're really nice, Gemma. I hope you can figure things out and be successful in Friction. We need more nice people in there." Cassie got up and skirted around the table to lean down and give Gemma a hug.

"Yeah. Just try not to be so smart in the ring, and you'll be fine. Just go in there and be an animal. We're all just wild animals, and all good fighters know how to let that part out. Know what I mean?"

"I, for example, am a bear." Cassie raised her eyebrows and placed her fingertips daintily on her chest.

"A little killer baby bear. Watch out, she steals picnic baskets." Taylor stood up and put a hand on her stomach. She was full. She loved the feeling because she spent most of her life hungry, but there was always the matter of getting food to settle enough so that she could get back to working out. "Well, hey, best of luck to ya and everything. And, well... fuck luck, actually. No such thing. Just work hard, and we'll drop you a line if we get that idea up and running. Here..." She reached into her wallet and pulled out a business card. Under her own name was Morgan Corvidae, executive assistant. "That's my assistant, you can get at me through her if you want."

Cassie waved. "Bye, Gemma! Have fun!"

While polishing off the last of her water, Gemma discretely cast her eyes from end to end of the restaurant. A nice meal and conversation was exactly what the Brit needed; she'd never been so grateful for curry breath in her life. Utterly content, Gemma found herself feeling at peace for the first time in months. That was, until Taylor's casual, semi-sort-of-challenge. At least, that was how Gemma took the American's words. She balked, for a second, at the thought of getting to face a veteran like Taylor, a title contender no less. The idea that someone like that might want to take the time to get in the ring and see what Gemma was made of, hands-on, was massively flattering.

“Might be a thing, sometime,” Gemma said, trying to play cool. “Something to work towards. Maybe get myself to the point that I could make you break a sweat?” Gemma added, with a grin.

“And thank you, Cassie,” Gemma replied, leaning forward and returning the hug. Rising out of her seat, she began to put on her coat, adding, “It's been so nice, getting to meet you two. I get what you're saying, about being an animal, shutting down all those nagging thoughts … But still, it's nice to know not everyone's going to be trying to go full Romero on my face, after each bell.”

Gemma nodded along with Taylor's advice, hoping that she could keep it in mind, the next time she was in the ring. That worry abated, though, as she stifled a laugh, and offered a sage nod to Cassie, as they discussed the Canadian's bear-ness. “Steals the pic-a-nic baskets, and hands them off to the destitute raccoons. Like a Hannah-Barbara Robin Hood.” The Brit modestly accepted Taylor's card, tucking it carefully into the interior pocket of her jacket, as she stood up and wrapped herself back up, in it.

“Thanks, Taylor, I'll be in touch, sometime. And thank you for dinner, it was absolutely lovely. I'll have to pay you back, at some point.” Gemma fastened the buckles of her jacket, as the pair said their goodbyes. “The two of you take care, now, and hopefully we'll run into one another soon. Again, thank you for an absolutely lovely evening.” Gemma had a great deal to consider, on her walk back to her apartment. She'd been taking it easy, since her beating at the hands of Syd. A lot of ice baths, a lot of low-impact cardio. Tomorrow, she resolved, it was time to get back on the phone, and start pestering management for another match. She'd had a lot of wisdom dropped in her lap, tonight, and there was just one way to start making sense of it all. She was going to need to get back on the horse, re-learn how to think, and decide exactly what sort of animal she was going to be.