Of All The People...

It was a rainy day outside, and the dreary weather perfectly reflected Peggy's attitude on this not so fine afternoon. She had been riding high after a debut win in Friction, but one of her favorite wrestlers who in part helped draw her over to Japan to wrestle had defeated her in her second match by submission. Peggy didn't like losing even if it was to an accomplished wrestler like Julia who was the clear favorite to win in the first place.

Clad in her wrestling attire Peggy was over in the weight area doing her last few exercises before heading to the ring to work on some mat skills and run ropes..... her least favorite activity. Right now though, Peggy was focused on the squat rack, and the barbell she was using for curls. She shook her legs out and readied herself to begin lifting for her next set, focused on her workout. She was determined not to be on the losing end of any matches anytime soon!

All this work would help her ensure future victory, and the more she did here the more success she was sure to have in the ring!

Gemma slipped into the gym while trying to make the absolute minimum fuss, possible. Normally, she simply would have spent today running around the neighborhood, but the rain outside put the kibosh on that. The white-haired Brit had even considered just having a quiet day in, taking it easy with a pack of bananas, some vegan curry and a DVR full of weird Japanese game shows. But, her aching body simply wasn't going to allow that, it seemed.

Gemma's most recent matches had convinced her of something: after a long, rather humiliating struggle in AFW, she was turning a corner. Even her most recent losses had been rather narrow ones. And for the first time in a long time, Gemma was starting to honestly believe that she really could turn things around! Which unforutnately meant there was little time for lazing about ...

So, clad snugly in a pair of bright grey yoga pants and a white sports top, Gemma pushed aside the doors of the gym and walked inside. Hair pulled back tight into a ponytail, Gemma still found herself peering through a few loose bangs as she sized up the rest of the gym. Despite her losses being narrow ones, they'd still been losses, and had still been rather humiliating. She knew how women in Friction could be, about that sort of thing. It was part of the culture that had sprung up around AFW, and Gemma felt like she had to be on the lookout for whoever might be waiting to take her down a peg or two, with some carefully-worded digs at her recent "accomplishments."

So, naturally, the first person the Brit set her eyes on was the last person she'd wanted to see. Clad in her signature green, the curvy Irish woman, Peggy MacIntyre, was already settled into her workout routine. Gemma froze. Had Peggy seen her? Was it too late to sneak around her, possibly? Gemma bit her lip and tried to stalk nervously through the gym. Even as one of the attendants at the door tried to flag her down; "Miss? Miss? We need you to sign in! Miss!"

Peggy set her weights on the bar and did her set of squats, barely recognizing anything different about the gym. A few women came, a few others went. Everyone left her alone which is all she really wanted. She had no problem with anyone here. However, when Peggy completed her squats and began to do bicep curls she saw someone who forgot to sign in, leading to a small amount of distress for the person working the counter.

"Well I'll be damned...." Peggy said, staring a hole through Gemma. Now this was in fact a woman she had a problem with. After doing her reps, Peggy set her barbell down and began to walk over to Gemma. "I figured ya would have eaten a sandwich or two but its good to see ya tryin' ta add a bit to that scrawny frame ya got!" Peggy said with a smirk, crossing her arms as she stood right in front of Gemma. "Too bad no amount o' lifting' would help that sorry ass of yours win."

Gemma froze, as the noisome receptionist drew a massive amount of attention to her. The Brit had been hoping against hope that she could just get in, get her run on, get out. No muss, no fuss. And instead, one of the last women on Earth that she would have wanted to see, Peggy MacIntyre. The last time they'd met, it was in the ring, where Peggy had managed to leave Gemma a beaten, humiliated mess on the mat. She winced, as Peggy walked over.

"Peggy," she said, "impressive lift, over there. Until one realizes that you move twice that weight around every time you have to shift around those massive thighs ..." Gemma didn't know what it was about the Irish woman exactly, but something about her just brought out the worst in the Brit. "Sorry I didn't recognize you on my way in, luv," Gemma continued, jaw setting and eyes narrowing. "Must have had something in my eye. You'd know all about that now, wouldn't you?" Gemma's cheeks flushed a bit red in anger, as she remembered the sheer visceral pain of Peggy raking her eyes, just before the Irish woman finisher Gemma off, in their last encounter. Subconsciously, Gemma was posturing now. Shoulders squared, chest extended a bit to bump against Peggy, it seemed the Brit couldn't help but betray how much she wanted this encounter to escalate, now.

Peggy frowned as Gemma shot back, insulting her fitness yet again. "The boys don't seem to find anything wrong with these, just you. A bit o' size comes with being' able ta lift more n' the bar girlie." Peggy said as she gave the sides of her legs a hearty slap.

As Gemma kept running her mouth and bumped chests with Peggy, Peggy kept her arms on her hips but stepped forward, really pressing up against Gemma. "Are ya still sore that the best woman inside the ring walked out victorious? If ya can't take the punishment get the fuck out of this line of work ya prissy bitchy little princess!" Peggys voice was much louder than before, now causing everyone inside to stop what they were doing. The two women jawing at one another now had the attention of everyone inside the building....

Gemma winced. She didn't like who she was around Peggy, but something about the thick Irish woman just brought it out of her. And it seemed to be even worse, after the two of them have ended things in the ring the way they had. And now here they were, bodies pressed flush together, in each other's faces, ready to tear into one another all over again. Gemma let a foot go back, bracing herself. The redhead had a size advantage, and knew how to use it effectively. But the British girl refused to back down, to her.

"I'm still sore," Gemma growled, "that I lost a match due to some girl fighting like a cow- if you hadn't grazed my eyes like you had, I never would have gotten caught in that last slam, of yours!" Fair-skinned face reddening even more, Gemma was starting to really feel it, now. Her slender abs tightened, as her body tensed. She pressed further into Peggy. "And don't you dare talk to me about taking punishment in that ring, you squabbling sow! Maybe if you knew one thing about me, watched any of my matches, you'd know what I've been through!" Gemma stopped, then, biting her lip. Then, her eyes narrowed. "Me, meanwhile, I do my homework. You want to talk about taking punishment and not backing down, Peggy? How 'bout you tell me how your last match went down, luv? How'd that turn out, for you, eh?"

Peggy's eyes widened with every bovine reference by Gemma. Peggy practically snarled as she gave Gemma a shove! "I lost to one of the best there is, n' gave her a hell of a run in the process! Whats the shame in that? You lose to rookies and nobodys!
Peggy shot back, taking a very defensive stance after the shove.

Peggy just glared a hole through Gemma, knowing that she was going to respond somehow. "Ya can call me a cow all ya like, at least I can take a thump or two before I go down lass."

Gemma could feel each individual hair on the back of her neck prickling. She huffed, trying to keep herself under some semblance of control. It wasn't working, super well.

"Yeah, you lost to someone good, we've all been there," she started, trying to keep her voice level. "Just shows what happens when you face someone better than you, and don't manage to cheat your way into a win! I mean, I assume that's how she beat you. You seem to do mighty well for yourself, when you get to throw the rulebook out the window, luv.

"And as much as you talk up the lads and those thighs of yours, I can't figure it's that hard to get you to go down," Gemma added, having lost all ability to control her tongue after Peggy brought up her own string of losses. "Me, I can take a hell of a lot before I get put away. The shite I've been put through in that ring, would have you rethinking careers, you soft git!"

Peggy growled at each venomous word that came out of Gemma's mouth. Peggy's voice was now elevated and any control she had was gone. "How about we have us another match and I kick your cutesy little ass all over the place backstage? Hardcore, so you can't cry like a bitch when I trash ya proper!" Peggy shouted, her face red. She wasn't sure if it was her anger, or Gemma's embarrassing insults about her figure that had her red, although it was likely a combination of both. Either way, Peggy had enough and felt like a hardcore match was a perfect venue to take out her frustrations on Gemma all while getting back on the winning track...

Part of Gemma couldn't help but be intimidated, as the Irish woman lost her cool. Part of her was thrilled, though; wins didn't come often for Gemma, but the idea that she'd managed to get into Peggy's head was strangely, incredibly gratifying.

Of course, Gemma wasn't exactly the picture of composure, herself. "You want to go hardcore, you ragged little slagamuffin? Suits me just fine, then! I've had women ten times the competitor you are give me everything they had, in matches like that, and I'm still standing! I'll break every bloody chair in Japan over your head, by the time I'm done with you!" The two of them were drawing a bit of a crowd, now, but Gemma didn't much care. "And we'll see how far you can get when you can't break the rules your opponent is trying to follow, eh?" The words were coming out much louder than Gemma had meant them to, but she was feeling bold. Almost giddy, even. Some base part of her, some tingling sensation right at the back of the Brit's skull, was screaming at her that this was exactly what she wanted.