Catch Your Breath

Haley smiled, turning her gaze from her handstanding girlfriend and leaning against the ropes as Alaina got in the ring.

"Hey Amazon! At least get that butt in the ring before you start threatening to kick ours!"

She yelled, giving Alaina a brief hug before backing up, continuing to stretch and get nice and limber.

"Man, its still weird seeing you were boots. You'd look better staying barefoot and using ankle supports, would look tough on you."

"Big Al!" Valley rolled forward out of the handstand and popped up to her feet, moving to greet the younger superstar as she made her way into the ring. Alaina was always a pleasure to be around, but one she didn't get to enjoy nearly enough these days - both the Slamazon and the Amazon's careers had been hectic this year for a variety of different reasons. This little training session was long overdue.

She gave Alaina a quick hug after her girlfriend did the same and moved back, joining Haley with the stretches. "Sparring's fine with me, but no need to rush. Got all day." She arched her back and got out a few cramps. "How've you been, party girl? I heard things are getting really hectic with the whole dojo thing. What's the deal?"

Alaina laughed as she hugged Ace, happy to see both of these ladies. "So my butt is the first thing ya noticed huh? Does it still look good?" Alaina said with a wink as she playfully smacked her backside. "I dunno... footwear's that matched the pattern would be cool but I realized how exposed my feet were to cheap shot tactics." She added with a shrug.

Valley stepped up and Alaina again, happily squeezing the slamazon champ. "Oh you know things are going, I have a match with a little witch followed by a triple threat match for the entropy title." Alaina said with a smile, but the smile soon faded. "Like, honestly I am surprised I was in that match. Sure I fought hard and Gwendolyn cheated to win but you have been on a hell of a winning girl!" Alaina said, pointing out the roll Valley had been on. Alaina had watched much of it, and it was impressive to say the least. "I had a bit of the wrong kind of streak earlier this year, and one of those fights I just looked... I dunno, powerless. I am happy as hell to have the shot, but I'm not really sure if I deserve it." Alaina said, continuing to stretch.

"But, I feel ready and I know you two can keep me in top shape right?" She said after a pause, smiling once more to lighten the mood.

"Oh come on Alaina, you know you deserve it! You and Julia both deserve that belt after the crap Gwen's pulled on you guys, and since she's too much of a coward to face me, and I don't have the kind of pull you Dojo girls seem too, I'll be looking forward to watching one of you become Entropy Champ."

Haley replied, leaning back against the ropes and crossing her arms, a smirk on her face.

"Of course, now that I've gotten that Amethyst girl out of my hair, I'll be looking to take that belt back after you've gotten it from Gwennie...only I won't need two people to help do it."

She said, taking a small shot at the Amazon. While she would never say it aloud, and it didn't make her a good friend, she couldn't help but be a little bitter about it. Alaina or Julia were pretty much certain to take the belt of Gwen, while Haley, who Gwen had stolen the belt from in the first place, had been pretty much locked out of the entire title scene, looking in and wondering when she'd get her rightful shot again.

She shook her head, pushing that thought aside. issues aside, this wasn't the time or the place for that.

"But seriously, kick her butt. So, what should we do first? I suggest making Valley there change into that hot one piece outfit she used to wrestle in before we spar!"

Valley grabbed a water bottle and sipped away on it while the younger girl's spoke and caught up. Maybe Alaina wouldn't pick up on it, but Valley knew Haley well enough to realize when something was bugging her, and the current title scene was definitely bugging her. She'd had a great push up to the title, but after she'd had it stolen, it was like everything shifted. No talk of a rematch or getting back on the scene. Silver Ace was one of the most talented new girls in the locker room, and Valley couldn't help but feel people were starting to forget that. Or worse, someone wanted them to forget.

Backstage politics. The absolute least fun thing about wrestling.

But hanging with her girlfriend and Alaina was one of the more fun things, so she decided to just focus on that. She rolled her eyes at Hayley and smirked, then dropped down and rolled out of the ring.

"I would change into it if Morrigan hadn't ripped the thing into pieces." She had soft laugh at that, though there was some animosity underneath. "But let's do some focused sparring." She made her way over to the rack and started to toss some pads into the ring. "Alaina, are there any things you'd want to center on? Anything that needs improving."

Alaina could sense a bit of tension in the air in regards to the belt, and Ace's comment was easy to pick out. Alaina simply looked her in the eye without saying anything at first. She didn't want to start an actual fight today. She wanted to get better at fighting for sure, but this was supposed to be a happy day.

"I'm up for anything really, I have a lot I need to work on." Alaina said plainly. If her own friends had less than positive opinions of her getting another title shot then most likely others held stronger, more negative ones. She heard the rumors of her not being good enough, or that her dojo affiliation is what got it instead of her skill. She obviously had to prove herself, and she indeed intended to prove that she was worthy of that title shot. Also, once she got that belt she didn't plan on giving it up. "Quick matches, when one woman pins another for a one count or gets their opponent in a hold for more than two full seconds its a win. Loser steps off, new challenger steps in. Wash, rinse, repeat." Alaina said with a shrug. "That way we all face one another. I guess the most important question is who goes first?"

Ace walked towards the center of the ring, where Alaina and Valley stood, looking at Alaina head on...before slapping Valley Doll's shoulder.

"Tag! Your it!"

She yelled, before scooting backwards and hopping over the ropes, out of the ring, leaving the two of them to it.

Valley had just started to undo her shoes and put the kickpads on when Haley gave her the tag. She gave her a quick flick of the tongue, then finished getting the sparring gear on and popped up. It had a been a little while since she and Alaina went at it, but Valley knew that the pads and the protective helmet she was wearing would be a must for this spar. The Amazon was a sweet girl, but she could pack a mean punch.

"Fine with me." She tapped her toes on the mat and started to slide around the ring, winking at Alaina as she move. "You and me are loooooooong overdue for a rematch, aren't we, big girl?"

After a few cautious steps, Valley closed in and brought her hands up into a grappling stance, looking to see if she could get Alaina to go for a collar and elbow lockup.

Alaina grinned as she put on her own sparring gear, ensuring the fit was perfect. She needed to be on her toes against these two since it was no secret that speed was a big part of their game plans. Alaina wasn't immobile.... but she wasn't the fastest lady in AFW either. "We sure are slim. I have seen your work in the ring lately and know you've gotten a lot better. I just hope you realize all that applies to me too!" Alaina said as she moved in to accept the lockup.

Alaina knew she could go the brute force route. She had done it before. There were other things she had to work on, and now was a great time for hands on practice! Alaina wanted to establish her base, then get a hold of Valley's right arm and flip the slamazon over her in an arm drag, keeping hold of the arm after Valley landed!

Locking up with Alaina wasn't the smartest thing, really - despite being similar height, the younger wrestler had far more muscle to work with, and even though Valley's leg strength would keep her from getting totally bowled over, there was only so much she could hope to salvage from it. She was curious to see what new tools Alaina had picked up from the dojo, though, and she found out as Alaina sent her flying with a surprisingly slick arm drag.

"Faster than before." Valley rolled through the drag and popped up to her feet as fast as she could, wanting to stay in motion before Alaina could take advantage. She pulled back and threw a quick snap kick to the Amazon's wrist, trying to make her let go before she could do something more damaging.