Getting to Know You

Anger management? That took Valley by surprise. Kara seemed so cool and collected, like she had the soul of a much smaller woman in her hulking body. True, they hadn't known each other long, but her soft-spoken nature just seemed to shine through everything. It was hard to imagine her so much as raising her voice, much less having something that needed actual treatment.

"Well, it looks like it worked, so I'm glad you got your money's worth." She started to make her way to the backstage area, weaving through the crew as they started to set up for tonight's show. They spared a few glances towards Kara, but didn't stare too hard. Or they were trying to, at least. "A lot of the girls here could use some tempering down, really. So many people take so much stuff personally, and then it just snowballs."

Valley took that better than expected. Kara had failed to realize that she no longer acts like the angry person she used to be. Perhaps she's gotten self-conscious about that over the years. Regardless, Valley seemed to understand and respect her response and the tour continued to the backstage.

So this is what it looked like back here. Kara glances around, at no one in particular, instead watching crew members scramble one place to the next with the mission of setting up a show. Kara instantly finds regret in taking an interest in what they're doing as she catches a good number of them staring, then turn away when she spots them as if they hadn't noticed her. Kara could handle the surprised looks, and the stares weren't all bad she guesses, but she could swear she could hear whispers about her scarred form. Kara convinces herself that it's just her as she returns her attention to her tour guide, who mentions the temperament of some of the other women in the roster.

"Huh, that right?" Kara wonders, blinking in mild surprise, "I always thought that sort of thing was played up for the camera. You know, drama or whatever."

That one earned a nice, full laugh from Valley. ”Yeah, right. If anything, they tone it down.” She shook her head, and you could hear the rolling of her eyes from behind. ”On camera, you just see the promos and what happens in the ring. But about 3/4s of the drama happens around Tokyo. You’d think in a city this large, we wouldn’t bump into each other all that much, but you’ll be surprised who you run into. It’s like wrestlers just naturally gravitate to wrestlers. Weird.”

She made her way over to the entrance area and stepped by the side, near a little area they had cordoned off behind the curtains. ”This is the gorilla position. You hang out here right before each match, or while your opponent’s making her entrance. Doesn’t look like much, but when you’re back here and there’s thousands of fans screaming their ears off outside…” She whistled. ”You can barely hear yourself think. It’s awesome. Gets your head in the game."

Valley sighed and started to move away, heading towards the main ramp. ”Watch your step, a little dark back here.” She skipped over some cords. ”You picked a theme song, yet?”

The idea of running into anyone outside of the dome was baffling, especially in a city as massive as Tokyo. Where there just that many fighters in the roster, or perhaps Tokyo is just not as big as it seems? No...that's just silly. Kara knew it couldn't have been the latter. At any rate, she'd have to be careful about who she runs into out in the city. God knows the last thing she wants is drama.

Valley showed her the gorilla position; the area wrestlers were set to wait for their cue to enter the ring. Valley was right, it really wasn't much to look at. But maybe that was the point, considering the size wasn't exactly substantial either. She tries to imagine the sound of screaming voices filling this little box of a room while she waited in here to start a match. It was difficult for her to imagine, all the more reason to be excited to experience it.

Then Valley asked Kara something she had put no thought into. "...Theme song?" Kara replied, blinking as she wasn't expecting that question. "You have to choose those?" Her tone was more quizzical than worried. She wasn't aware wrestlers chose something like that, but just given to them based on...well, she wasn't sure about that either. Now Kara was loaded with questions about if she had to coordinate her own entrance. And she has the most priceless, questioning look on her face as she tries to ponder that on her own.

"And this," Valley stepped out of the curtain onto the ramp with her arms spread out wide. "Is the arena."

Now that Valley really thought about it, this was the first time she'd been in the arena when it wasn't packed with people, when there were only empty seats and a couple of janitors cleaning the place up. It was sort of staggering just how wide and spacious it was, how every word she spoke seemed to travel all over the place and come right back to her.

"Wow..." She absorbed the moment, then spun back to Kara. "And no, you don't have to, but if you don't they'll just pick one for you and it'll probably stink. Besides, it's a good way for the people to get a feel for you before you step into the ring. Like, me? I try to run a fast paced style of wrestling. Flipping, kicking, dives. So I go for high-energy music. And I love rock, so I have Van Halen play when I go out. Gets me pumped and the audience hyped."

The answer to her question wasn't immediate, as Valley shows Kara just what was beyond the curtains. She thought she knew what was behind those red drapes. She thought she was prepared to see the ring as it had always been displayed on television. But no. She didn't account for the vastness, the pure amount of space this place had to offer. The deafening silence of a place only displayed packed with screaming fans and the travelling echo across its emptiness.

"The Arena." Kara stared in awe as she listened to these words echo across the area. Glorious. Simply glorious.

It was then Kara got an answer to her question about choosing a theme song. It would be best to choose something that fit her, but for the life of her she couldn't think of anything. Ah well...looks like she'll have to remember to search for one, lest she be stuck with a tune she'd dislike to walk on stage to.

"Yeah. It grows on you fast." Valley looked at Kara's reaction for a moment - aside from the obvious differences, she'd had on about the same face the first time she came out of those curtains. She was used to performing for a crodw, but the AFW was the first time she'd ever worked in front of one so massive. The Slamazon shows never brought in even a tenth of what Friction got on its worst night ever, and when you remembered there were cameras broadcasting to millions around the world, your head could easily explode.

She patted Kara on the back and started to make her way behind the curtains again. "Come on, I'll show you to the gym, then I'll get out of your hair for the day." She was quick to add on as she whipped her head around, showing Kara a wide smile. "Not to say it hasn't been fun. Really wasn't what I was expecting when they asked me to do this."

With the moment thoroughly absorbed, it was time to move on with the tour. Next up with the gym, and boy did Kara's eyes light up at the sound of that. To her, the gym was the most important part of the day; her second home. Her base of operations where she works hard to keep her body as fit and toned as possible simply because it feels fantastic and the outcome is so satisfying to her. The gym was something Kara was secretly looking forward to this entire tour.

To Valley's kind words, Kara returns a warm smile and a nod. "Gotta say, you sure know how to make a tour seem exciting." Kara admitted, "I'm really fortunate it was you who'd show me around."

Valley didn't choose the gym as the last place to stop by accident. Once you got over the scars - and Valley felt like she mostly had, at this point - it was obvious that Kara put a lot of time and effort into maintaining her body. Valley hadn't seen a single inch of fat on her body since they'd met. She'd fit into the Friction gym quite nicely, indeed.

"I'm trying." She lead Kara out into the main hall, taking a shortcut. Wouldn't be a long walk. "I know how hard it is to settle in - the AFW has a huge roster, which is nice, but it means that they don't invest a lot of time in helping the new people along. It's hard to adjust to, and they'll throw you to the wolves off the bat if you're not careful. When you're new to Tokyo on top of it, it's a lot to absorb."

Valley slid around the next corner, tracing her hand along the wall as she walked, and kept her eyes on Kara as she came up behind her. "Speaking of, where are you from? Couldn't place the accent."

Now Kara's certainly grateful she ran into someone like Valley who seemed very patient with newcomers, which seems to be the opposite of what one should generally expect. God only knows what could have transpired if she had to be given a tour by someone like that. She can't help but wonder if her patience would be up for that.

"New York," Kara responded when asked where she came from. She was completely aware her accent - or lack there of - wasn't exactly fitting for your typical New Yorker. An anomaly, perhaps, but she never thought very much of it. "Didn't stick around long, though. Had to get away from some things..."