Test of Strength

Odessa Brock had been spending quite a bit of time in the gym lately, between her own workouts and the training that she was doing with her new young pupil, Aoko Reinhardt. After suffering several cracked bones and an irritating concussion during her last fight with Cecilia, Odessa had been given an extra few weeks of rest to recover herself and get back to one hundred percent. But she didn't need that much time to get back into fighting shape. At the very least, she was already eager to fight again within a couple of weeks after the fight. So, to sate her hunger until her next scheduled AFW match, she decided to not only hit the gym a little harder than usual, but to find some exciting new opponents to engage in some friendly, casual spars.

Having had lunch with Cecilia a few days earlier, Odessa had heard a new name come out of Cecilia's mouth as the blonde spoke of her own training: Alicia Wells. Odessa had seen some of the woman's fights before, including a title shot she had at AFW's hardcore championship, as well as a three-way duel the woman had fought that had included Odessa's new friend Liberty—a battle which Alicia had won. Apparently, she was working on her pro-style techniques with Cecilia. The tall, powerful redhead didn't seem to need much help in any other area. In fact, she had had a positively meteoric rise from rookie to contender within the last year. That was impressive. And a record like that from a woman who matched up so well with Odessa made the ebony beauty curious to test her mettle.

So Odessa had coaxed Alicia's phone number from Cecilia, and had given the woman a call. She chatted with her for a while, trading pleasantries and complimenting the fighter on her excellent record so far in AFW. Eventually, Odessa extended an offer to the newer fighter to join her for a friendly sparring session. They worked out the details and, at the designated time, Odessa was standing in the AFW practice ring in the corner of the gym. She wore her workout gear, rather than her usual match attire, with a black sports bra and matching black spandex shorts which accentuated the curves and musculature of her body. Odessa stretched herself out, bending down and then pulling herself back up every few seconds as she waited for Alicia to arrive.

Alicia didn’t get a lot of calls. In fact, she could almost count all the people who rang her on her mobile on one hand – Valley, Cecilia, her mum and dad, the office, maybe Eka or Mitsuru. Even then, her parents generally called her on Skype at pre-arranged times because of the time difference.

So, she’d been pretty surprised to see a number she didn’t recognise on the screen, then even more so when she’d been greeted by name by a woman with a very posh London accent. Maybe a foreigner would have mixed them up, but Alicia knew the difference instantly. Whoever her mystery caller was, she was someone from money or who wanted to sound like it at least.

And then her mystery caller had introduced herself and officially blown Alicia’s mind, just a little. She’d known that Odessa Brock was in AFW but her familiarity with her fellow Londoner went back to when Odessa had been working the local feds and Alicia herself had been a teen just starting out on her MMA classes and beating up the other local kids.

That had been one call she’d never expected to get, that was for sure. Still, once she’d got over the shock, Alicia had really enjoyed their talk. It’d given her a chance to ask some stuff she’d been wondering for a while, Odessa had been very complimentary about her record in AFW to date and to put the cherry firmly on the top it’d turned out that she wanted to spar with Alicia. To test the redhead’s skills out for herself.

Well, oddly enough, she’d been all over that offer. They’d worked out the details, Alicia had put the phone down and promptly gone to watch whatever matches of Odessa’s she’d been able to scrounge up.

This, she’d decided after the first match, was something she was really looking forward to.

Fortunately, the big redhead hadn’t needed to wait long before the time they’d arranged. Bang on the dot, Alicia walked into the gym, strode over to the ring and slid through the ropes. Like Odessa, as it turned out, she’d dressed in a sports bra and spandex shorts, both in black and showing off her curvy, powerful physique to good advantage.

Not that Odessa was anything to sneeze at. She was as tall as Alicia, well-built with it and with a taut body that mixed strength and sexiness almost perfectly. And there were those ivory locks and dark skin to give her an exotic edge. But Alicia wasn’t there to gawp.

Instead, she walked right over to offer the other British beauty her gloved hand with a grin.

”Hey. You probably hear this a lot, but it’s an honour to meet you in person.”

She widened her grin, flashing sharp teeth.

”Not as much as getting to spar with you though.”

Both of the Londoners seemed to have similar taste in workout clothes, opting for simple, sleek black attire that accentuated their curves and powerful muscles, putting their abs and biceps on full display and showing off in a slightly more reserved fashion the toned lips of their hips, glutes, and chests. The black contrasted distinctly with Alicia's skin and hair, though the starkest contrast was between Odessa's almost glowing white hair and her black workout gear as her snowy tresses cascaded down her back. As Alicia slipped into the ring, Odessa folded her arms across her chest, giving her sparring partner a smile as the woman walked up to her and extended a hand. She extended a non-gloved hand and clasped Alicia's hand tightly with it, pumping it up and down several times and giving it a squeeze to show off just the tiniest bit of the power which she had at her disposal. She met Alicia's gaze and held it.

Odessa almost blushed when Alicia told her that it was an honor to meet her. As it was, she would give the woman a little shrug and then a friendly laugh. "Actually, I hear it significantly less often than you may think. Quite a large number of wrestlers around here are full of themselves—and, to be honest, most of them do have a good reason for it. Any woman who excels as an AFW wrestler has to be quite the exquisite specimen." She raised an eyebrow at Alicia and inclined her head slightly, giving the redhead a look. Odessa knew just how well Alicia had done in her short time in AFW, and she wanted to make it clear to the other woman that she considered her to be among that number of exquisite wrestlers.

"I'm looking forward to seeing what you can do here in the ring for myself. My dear friends Liberty and Ceci have already had the chance, and I just couldn't resist having a taste of your abilities myself." Odessa would take a step back and stretch her arms out one more time, limbering up up to the moment that the two of them were to engage each other. "Would you say you're a hardcore wrestler first, or are there other types of matches you're equally comfortable with? I'm curious."

To Alicia’s lack of surprise, Odessa had a tight handshake. The red-haired amazon went to match it, refusing to let herself be shown up already, and she had no problem meeting the white-haired woman’s gaze with her violet eyes. She really doubted Odessa was squeezing as hard as she could; Alicia certainly wasn’t.

”Well, their loss. I know I’m good, that doesn’t mean I can’t respect you.”

And it was her turn to almost blush, her cheeks going slightly pink at the telling look she got. ‘Exquisite’ wasn’t an adjective she was used to people applying to her.

Matching Odessa’s step back, Alicia began running through her own stretches, guessing already that – spar or not – this wasn’t a match to risk being at anything but her best. She’d known from their chat before that Odessa had seen at least some of her work since joining Friction, but she’d not realised the other British titan had heard about her from Cecilia too. Interesting. Based on the matches she’d watched, ‘dear friend’ wasn’t the way she’d have described their relationship but hey.

What did she know? She barely knew either Cecilia or Odessa.

”Not that I get any say in it, but I think I’ve had enough hardcore matches. Any idiot can use a weapon and, sure, they’re tough as nails. But take Liberty – she’s basically just a brawler. I’d rather fight people with skill.”

Alicia didn’t mean any offence to Liberty – or Adrian – but she called them as she saw them. And AFW’s hardcore division with the exception of Abattoir seemed to be way more about tricks, toys and sneakiness than skill. Nothing wrong with that but it wasn’t what she wanted out of her AFW career.

”Regular matches are more my thing. And I’m looking forward to showing you what I’ve got.” As she spoke, Alicia had been continuing to warmup and now she lowered herself down into the front splits position, (mostly) unintentionally showing off her impressive flexibility to the other wrestler. Being a former gymnast had its perks in that regard, as well as in her monstrous lower body strength.

”What’s your favourite sort of match, since you asked?”

Alicia's handshake did not disappoint. Her grip was just as firm and her handshake just as tight and powerful as Odessa had expected it to be. The women's eyes, green and violet, met as they greeted each other, and Odessa would hold that gaze for a few seconds, before, as she let go, she took a moment to let her eyes trail over Alicia's body. Attired all in black, as Odessa was, Alicia cut a handsome figure, but there was no doubting just how much pain the red-haired warrior could inflict if she so chose.

Odessa smiled and nodded as she watched Alicia's cheeks turn a very faint shade of pink, with the red-haired Briton then beginning to stretch herself out so that their spar could get underway. Alicia's answer to her question about match types was an interesting one, and it seemed that the two of them had a lot in common. Odessa had once jointly held the number one contendership for the hardcore title. Alicia had actually had an opportunity to fight for that title. Alicia, like Odessa, had been somewhat disappointed by the use of weapons and other such unsavory tactics in that part of the league.

Odessa thought on their similar paths, from hardcore contenders to a greater focus on standard wrestling matches, as Alicia went down into the splits. Odessa would hum softly and tilt her head as she watched the redhead use her flexibility. Odessa was not quite so dexterous. Most recently before her wrestling career began, Odessa had done some modeling on the London fashion scene, and before that the only other sport she had ever exceled at was tennis. She was flexible, to be sure, but not quite at Alicia's level.

The former gymnast asked Odessa about what matches she preferred, and Odessa would happily give her an answer. "Well, as you did, I grew tired of hardcore matches when it became clear that most wrestlers were going to insist on underhanded tactics and weapons. Since then, I've thought of myself as being very much a generalist. Standard and pro-style matches are what I have the most training in, but I can't deny the appeal of a fistfight or a brawl, so long as it's a fair fight. Even catfighting and some of the more...lecherous matches can sate my desire for competition."

Listening to Odessa talk, Alicia kept working on her stretches. The redhead leant forward, pressing her body down towards her leg and then switching up to do the same with the other. She couldn’t manage it as well as she had back when she was a gymnast, before she had her growth spurt, but the kickboxer had maintained as much flexibility as she could. If nothing else, being able to axe-kick her opponents with a full standing splits was an awesome finishing move.

”Right?” She agreed with a grunt of effort, before pulling herself out of the splits and then up to her feet, ”Just let me get my hands on Adrian Kytes without her weapons and her bag of tricks and I’d break her in half.”

In Alicia’s opinion, the hardcore champion’s tactics in their match could very easily be summed up as ‘underhanded tactics and weapons’.

Shaking her head, she didn’t dwell on it, stretching one arm across her chest and bracing it with the other.

”You probably know my background is in kickboxing and MMA. So, I prefer standard matches here, or submissions only – though I prefer winning by knockout. It’s more satisfying. Like you say though, it’s got to be a fair fight. I don’t think I’d enjoy the… what do they call it? Hentai stuff so much though.”

That didn’t mean she was judging Odessa for liking it. Not at all, Alicia didn’t have an issue with it – she just didn’t enjoy watching it and she definitely didn’t want to be in it. If the other Brit enjoyed it, more power to her. Otherwise, the two of them seemed to have a lot in common in their approach to fighting, both in terms of the matches they liked, the opponents they preferred and their attitude to the hardcore scene.

She was looking forward to seeing what Odessa brought to the table even more now.

”So, you sort of suggested you had something in particular in mind for this.” The redheaded amazon switched arms, eyes fixed once again on her countrywoman. ”Care to share?”

Odessa felt warmed up and limber now, and she would keep herself moving, shifting her weight and shaking out her arms as she would watch Alicia warm up, as well. The woman was remarkably flexible for someone of her size, dropping down into a nearly full-on splits as part of her preparations. Odessa would raise a carefully-kept white eyebrow and whistle in appreciation of the feat. Once Alicia had pulled herself up out of the splits, it seemed that she was just about ready to get their little sparring match underway.

"I didn't figure you would. I'd like to think that I have a good sense for the sort of women who enjoy such matches, and I pegged you for a more serious wrestler from the first," Odessa would explain, as she stretched her arms above her head one more time, then let them drop to either side and swing back and forth as one final preparation. "I always prefer to keep such matches in somewhat more private locales, in any case."

Now that the two of them had broken the ice and had some idea of their fighting styles and match interests—at least in terms of what they described to each other—it was time for them to begin their spar. Alicia was under the assumption that Odessa had something in mind, and, truth be told, Odessa had a few ideas. She mostly wanted this encounter to be a test, both for Alicia and for herself. She was interested in how this relative rookie would compare to her across the board. "Oh, I wouldn't say I have something in particular in mind, necessarily. I'd be more than happy to hear any ideas you may have," Odessa would say. "But I do have a few concepts which I'd like to test with you. Starting, perhaps, with a classic test of strength?"

While Alicia didn’t show off as she warmed up, the impressed little whistle she got did push the redhead to include a few of the showier moves in her limbering up routine. If nothing else, it seemed like Odessa was going to appreciate them. The kickboxer wasn’t pulling as impressive feats as she could have with a more gymnast like build, but she was pretty flexible for her size and she knew it.

Alicia’s brows arched up curiously as Odessa spoke. She’d thought she’d understood that from what they’d talked about on the phone but, sure, she was happy to go with the flow. As far as ideas of her own, well. Alicia’s sparring matches were generally pretty by the book unless something went wrong. At that point, things could get… interesting but probably not in a way that Odessa would enjoy.

And she also wasn’t immediately clear on what sort of concepts the darker-skinned amazon had in mind. But a test of strength was at least something she was familiar with, albeit not yet from personal experience. The closest she’d come was the abortive collar and elbow tie up with Valley, before she’d terminated that one with a knee to the gut. Still, she knew what was involved and she didn’t have any problems trying that one out with Odessa.

”Sure,” She agreed with a shrug, stretching her arms out, rolling her shoulders back and finally stepping closer to offer her hands, ”Ready when you are then.”

Well, this would be interesting. She thought for a moment.

”Who picks the next one? Winner or loser?”

Alicia seemed to seize upon the rather fuzzy idea that Odessa had developed immediately. As much as Odessa loved a full-on match, they were in the practice ring, not in the arena, and going at it until one of them submitted, was pinned, or was knocked out would rob them of some valuable experience and opportunities to learn from each other's styles. One could hardly stop in the middle of a match and change tactics in order to accomodate something newly learned. But, if they were to compete against each other in a number of smaller contests, it would not only be more appropriate for this practice ring, but would give them both chances to show off their strong points and work on any weak areas which they might have.

Alicia seemed to be a little casual about the matter, but that was all well and good. Odessa lifted her arms up and wiggled her fingers as she moved her hands towards Alicia's. "Sounds like we're in agreement already. I figure that we can think up a few of these sorts of contests, or even matches in miniature, to compete in. Let's say that the loser chooses the next event, hmm? It would only be fair."

Odessa would then grab onto Alicia's hands, clenching them tightly with her own, giving them a squeeze as one might in a handshake in order to test how Alicia would respond and how strong she might be. The only real way to test that, of course, was to push. "Well, then, if you're ready...let's go!" she would say, before shoving forward against her opponent, muscles flexing as she tried to push Alicia backwards and down to the canvas.

That seemed like a fair solution, Alicia decided. It was a recipe for evening up the score if the loser got to pick something they were good at, whereas letting the winner pick would mean they got to pile on. And, well, that meant both of them would probably get to pick at least half of the time.

Smart.

”Loser chooses the next event,” She agreed, ”Like you say, it’s only fair.”

Alicia paused, gave the other woman a grin.

”Fairer than I think a lot of the people hereabouts would go for. I like it. Fighting – well, testing myself – is more fun than winning, right?”

Feeling Odessa take her hands in her own, the big redhead did her best to match the white-haired woman’s squeeze with her own, nodding to show her readiness. And then they were pushing against each other, with Alicia rapidly finding herself on the defensive despite her best efforts. The toned muscles of her own arms flared into definition as she shoved back, doing her utmost to gain an edge or at least hold her ground. At the same time, she dug her heels in, using the strength of her legs to keep herself upright.

She probably wouldn’t be able to hold her ground but she was at least going to give this her all. Odessa’s arms were definitely every bit as strong as her own Amazonian build would imply, but Alicia meant to show she wasn’t a pushover either.