Getting to Know You

”’Scar Queen’.” Valley muttered to herself as she walked through the halls of the AFW arena. ”Not a good sign.”

She was in a bit of a foul mood today. For starters, it was Saturday, the one day of the week she always kept sacred for non-wrestling related activities. No working out, no matches, no studying. She went hard six days out of the week, but always tried to end it on a light note and recharge her batteries for the week to come. But not this Saturday. This Saturday, she was at her job.

Strike one.

To make matters worse, the reason she was at her job was to do something she did not look forward to doing - wrestler orientation. She’d been called in around noon because the AFW was bringing in a new wrestler, and someone got it in his head that the best way to get the new talent acclimated was to have a senior wrestler show her around. It wasn’t a new idea, really - with Valley’s last promotion, the Slamazons, their manager liked to do the same thing, and she knew other companies had the same habit. Her manager meant well, thought it was a good way to build friendships, but he was wrong. It tended to tick off the older wrestlers, who often saw it as a sign they were being pushed back...and were, more often than not, 100% correct.

Strike two.

Valley wasn’t sure if she’d reach strike three and have a minor meltdown, but since she was meeting a woman they billed as ‘Scar Queen’, she thought the odds were good. In her experience, the people with the narliest sounding names were the ones you had to watch out for. Troublemakers. Dirty wrestlers. Like the AFW didn’t have enough of those already.

She made her way out to the front of the AFWDome and stood by the sidewalk, looking pretty in her blue denim jeans and her White Snake shirt. Aside from a few wrestlers going to and from the building, she was alone for the moment, but that wouldn’t last long - Kara Kane was supposed to be here, soon.

Valley checked the time on her phone, then stuffed it away, keeping an eye out for the new girl. The sooner they got this over with, the sooner she could go back to her Saturday...

There are perhaps many things people don't expect to see during their day. Today, some may be treated to a strange sight. Now, people came in all sorts of shapes and sizes, and most people wouldn't think twice about it. But seeing someone riddled with scars? To the average person, that's just unsettling, especially when they're sitting in the back seat of your car.

With a training bag at her side, Kara Kane sat alone and patiently while a taxi traveled the city to reach her destination. As she watched the buildings and cars go by out of her window, she couldn't help but wonder what things would be like when she got to the AFW Dome. The television show made it seem so tense between wrestlers at times, though it could just be played up for the camera. Still, she'd rather not get into fights outside of the ring if she could help it.

It wasn't long before the taxi had reached the Dome, coming to a park somewhere around the entrance. After paying the driver his due, she took a deep breath and stepped out of the cab, slinging her training bag over one shoulder. Now, when she got there, Kara was supposedly going to meet someone who would show her around the dome, but she was never told who she should be looking out for. Figuring she'd know when she met them, or perhaps vice versa, Kara, clad in comfortable-looking sports shorts and a black sleeveless hoodie, walked the little way to the Dome, keeping an eye out for anyone looking to be keeping an eye out for her.

Valley didn’t have to wait long until she spotted an unfamiliar figure heading her way. The new girl was hard to miss actually - even from a distance, it was clear to see she was a bit taller and more muscular than most women on the AFW roster, with the sort of physique you’d more expect to see in a UFC match. Not that surprising, though, since that seemed to be a growing trend in wrestling these days. Not Valley’s style, but she wouldn’t knock it.

She put on the best face she could, waved to Kara, and started to make her way over, getting closer and closer. ”Hey!” She chirped, trying to sound bright about the whole thing. Just because she was ticked off didn’t mean she had to take it out on the rookie. ”I’m Valley Doll, nice…”

Valley froze in mid sentence as she got a much better look at the new recruit. More specifically, she saw the skin or her arms and legs. Her shredded, torn skin. When Valley heard the name ‘Scar Queen’, she assumed it was because Kara ostensibly gave people scars. Just something to sound scary. This was not quite what she pictured. Not even a little. It looked like Kara had been wrestling tigers.

She realized she was staring and straightened up, gaining as much composure as she could. ”Yeah, uh,” She took a deep breath and focused on Kara’s eyes. ”Valerie, my name’s Valerie, but everyone calls me Valley. I’m the one they sent out to show you around.” She extended her hand, hoping she could make up for the rudeness with a friendly gesture. ”It’s good to meet you.”

It didn't take long for Kara to be found by someone. The chirp of a greeting caught her attention as she looks to see a smiling, blonde woman approach her. To Kara, this woman looked like a manager of some sort, which seemed to solidify more as the woman drew closer, though she does notice how fit she seems to be. She definitely seems a little older than someone she'd expect to see in the ring, so perhaps her suspicions were valid. Either way, Kara was happy someone who appeared so ready to help to greet her, and she smiled back and waved. "Hey there," she'd respond to the woman, who introduced herself as "Valley Doll."

Valley Doll. That's definitely a stage name if she's ever heard one. Looks like Kara was wrong after all.

The woman doesn't even get through her introduction to Kara as she suddenly froze up, staring. Her smile fading a bit, Kara stares back, tilting her head a bit. The question of what could be wrong didn't linger very long as the answer immediately came to mind: her scars. It was Kara's most prominent, glaring feature, and this wouldn't be the first time she caught someone staring. Lets face it, she looked like a monster in human clothing. She smiled awkwardly, bringing her free hand to move excess hair behind an ear in a nervous tick while clearing her throat. Her greeter got the picture pretty fast, and straightened herself appropriately to finish her intro. Valerie, her name was, but everyone called her Valley. Must be where the stage name comes from, Kara figures.

With a smile, Kara reaches and takes Valley's hand in a firm handshake. "Name's Kara. It's good to be here," she stated, seemingly looking past the reaction prior.

After making an ass out of herself in record time, Valley was very glad to see that Kara seemed to have a gentler demeanor than her hardcore looks would’ve implied. By the time they made it to shake hands and she spoke, it was like the last few seconds had been erased. She doubted that was the first time Kara had ever gotten that reaction, either. Didn’t make it right, but at least she understood, and it encouraged Valley to steel herself. She’d seen worse. Not much worse on an active wrestler, but worse.

”Oh, strong hand, nice.” Valley smirked and stretched her fingers after Kara pulled away, pretending like the Scar Queen had really hurt it. She didn’t have to pretend too hard, though. ”Come on, I’ll swing you by the locker room to drop off your stuff, then we can make a round.”

Valley nodded towards the building and started to head inside, motioning for Kara to follow. ”So, what brings you to Friction?” She stuffed her hands in her pockets and pushed the door open with her shoulder, sliding inside. [color=#ff0080]”New to the business, or just coming from another promotion?”

With that, the introduction had gone off without much issue, save for the first impressions, and now Kara was being lead into the Dome itself. She walked with purpose, both excited and nervous to be a part of this federation's roster, though most of that emotion was kept internal. She had little idea of what or who she'd encounter here, but if at least half of the people Kara would run into were as kind as Valley seemed to be, she was sure she'd have little issue.

"New," Kara had replied to Valley's question, giving a little shrug as she followed her past the doors, "I figure this sort of profession could work for me, so when I was offered a shot, I went for it." It was only saying this out loud that Kara realized how boring that might have sounded. It was true, however. This would be her first time in the wrestling business, and there was just no getting around that.

"Nothing wrong with being new. Everyone’s new, sometime" Valley twirled around on her heel for a moment, flashed Kara a smile, then went right back to walking. "You're built like Wonder Woman, so that'll get you pretty far by itself, and there are plenty of people around here who'll take the time to help you train and get the basics."

She glanced back at Kara and noted the pep in her step, glad to see it. Under the rough exterior, it seemed like she had a good desire to be in the AFW, not some gruff outsider looking to dominate right out of the bat. Lord knew they had enough drama queens, already.

”But you’ve got to have some fighting experience, at least, with a body like that.” She quickly added on. ”The muscles, I mean. You look like a fighting machine. MMA, boxing, anything?”

Kara smiles at Valley's responses, enjoying the positive reactions she's getting, and hearing that there were plenty of people around to train with was awesome to hear. Already she was enjoying being here and she hadn't even gotten to her locker yet! Surely Valley's done this before, since she definitely seems to know how to make someone feel welcome.

Then there was her question about her physique. Yes, she's had a history of fighting, but Kara figures it would be unwise to start talking about how angry she used to be and how picking street fights for the hell of it was a hobby. "Uh, well," she began, smiling sheepishly as she quickly put an explanation together, "I used to practice kickboxing for awhile for working out. The muscles are, uh...what happens when you become obsessed with working out."

Valley perked up at the mention of kickboxing and nodded over her shoulder. "Oh, kickboxing. We had a couple of kickboxers join up a couple of months back, too. Nowhere near your size, but they've done well from what I hear. You'll slide in nice."

Valley stopped in front of the door to the locker room, but didn't go in just yet. There was an important lesson to be imparted here. "Okay, now, word of advice." She placed a hand on the door, but didn't push it open just yet. "Some of the girls around here can be..." Valley licked her lips, as she tried to think of a delicate way to phrase this. "Sexually open, I guess. It doesn't happen all the time, but it's not too rare for them to have their private time in places they really shouldn't. Like the lockerroom. So, just a tip..."

She gave the door a few knocks. "...doesn't hurt." She opened the door and peeked inside, then held it wide open. "Pick any locker you like, I'll wait out here."

Kara was lead to the front doors of the locker room, but as they stopped, she was given an unexpected warning about what she may find in there if she isn't careful. At any moment upon entering the locker room, she may catch two girls enjoying one another. Needless to say, Kara was rather surprised by the possibility. She didn't find it disturbing, nor did she seem enthused about encountering such a thing. Frankly, she wasn't sure what she was supposed to feel.

"Wow." That was the only response she could think to say.

With the locker room door open to her, Kara heads inside to find a locker to stash her stuff, finding glancing about for anything else she might catch out of the ordinary. It doesn't take her long to choose one and tuck away her training bag inside before making her way back to Valley to resume the tour.