Post-Denial

"Just... don't tell anyone."

The last thing Taylor needed, if she was supposed to be taking it easy and de-stressing, was to get chewed out for not taking it as easy as she could. Being active was how she de-stressed, most of the time, except when it wasn't...

She strapped on her red sparring gloves, with a white lightning bolt on the back of each hand, and bit down on her mouth guard. She smacked her gloves together and held out out toward Gabbie before skipping back and taking a lazy, but mobile stance, her hands low and shoulders relaxed. She shuffled listlessly toward her right.

"So Bear's leaving." She hated saying the words.

Gabbie didn't care why Taylor wanted to spar. She didn't care that Taylor wasn't supposed to be training.

Fighters fought. It's what they did. And when they weren't fighting, they were getting ready for a fight and thinking about the next fight.

Gabbie gave Taylor a nod and champed down on her mouth guard as well. As always, she was focused and ready to go hard, even as Taylor seemed a little more relaxed.

Until Taylor spoke. Her body followed through with the thought in her mind. "RRRrgghhWHAT!?" She screeched as she planted her foot and lunged a high, hard kick right at Taylor's head.

Taylor floated back away from Gabbie's kick, letting it swish through the air in front of her, and then circled off. She moved quickly, but listlessly.

"Yeah," she said. "She's gonna tell everyone tonight."

She extended her lead right hand out toward Gabbie and stuck it in her face as she shuffled after her, only to measure distance. Or to annoy her.

Gabbie batted away Taylor's glove. Her eyes was fierce as they always were but the look of cool determination was gone. Something more like rage filled her sparkling blue eyes.

"Like HELL she is!" Gabbie screamed.

She swung reckless rights and lefts at Taylor's face. The face she was swinging at in her mind did not have blonde hair.

Again, Taylor danced away from Gabbie's wild attacks. She turned her shoulder and covered up and used her expeditious footwork to avoid harm. Finally, she ducked past the enraged Canadian to one side, and swatted her on the back of the head with her glove. Nothing more than a slap.

"I know," she said coolly. "I'm... I don't like it, either. I figured you might, since you didn't seem to want her around."

Taylor again irritatingly stuck her right hand in Gabbie's face while she moved around her.

Gabbie stumbled a bit from the tap. More out of frustration and anger than anything else. As Taylor harassed her again, Gabbie responded with a hard kick aimed at Taylor's side.

"That selfish bitch!" Gabbie growled. "Why the hell is she leaving!?" The Canadian demanded.

Taylor dipped her elbow down to her side and let Gabby's shin slam into her arm, and quickly snagged the leg. She lifted it up and stepped forward, and chopped Gabby's standing leg out from under her with a sweeping low kick.

"Gabby," Taylor warned, leaning over her and pointing a glove down at her face. "Watch your fucking mouth. Understand?"

"Guh!"

Gabbie hit the floor with a thud and spit out her mouth guard. "Fuck. Off." Gabbie growled. "Tell me why she's leaving!" Gabbie demanded.

Taylor pulled her own mouthguard out with the thumb of her gloved hand and stood her ground. "She quit AFW. I dunno, Kathy Bates, you tell me!"

She motioned for Gabby to get up and strolled away a few steps. She bit down on her mouth guard and bounced in place several times before finding her stance, more sideways than usual with her lead right hand still very low.

"Quit?!" Gabbie growled.

When Taylor backed away, Gabbie grabbed her mouth guard and popped it back in. She hopped up and bounced in place, staring hard back at Taylor.

"How don't you know? I thought she was your best friend. Did something happen?"

Though she growled her first words, the very last question held the faintest hint of concern, but she tried to cover it up by slapping her gloves together and bouncing towards Taylor, harassing her back with a few crisp jabs aimed at Taylor's face.