Test of Strength

It seemed that Alicia had caught on to the sort of sparring which Odessa was interested in doing with her. She had anticipated the crux of what Odessa suggested, and, judging by her smile and her small speech on fairness, it seemed to be something which she was excited to compete in. Odessa was still getting herself into the mood for a full-on match, and, since the two of them were meeting in the gym rather than the arena, why not have some fun and test each other in different ways? If they were to just go at it they would likely end up in the same sorts of submission holds and pins that they had used hundreds of times apiece.

"Agreed. I enjoy testing myself against another worthy wrestler, and it wouldn't exactly be a true test unless we had a level playing field. Perhaps you will be able to best me in some ways, and I you in others. It is an excellent way to feel out one's sparring partner," Odessa would say, before the two of them locked their hands, squeezed each other's fingers, and then began shoving against each other. Odessa had been in plenty of tests of strength before, but few like this.

Since she did not have to worry about any dirty tricks from Alicia, Odessa could focus on shoving her opponent back. It required more technique than one might imagine. Odessa seemed to get off to a better start, and right away she had Alicia on the defensive. If Alicia could only push with equal strength, then she could only stalemate Odessa while the ebony beauty held a slight advantage. If she could not push back with the same force, then she would be pushed down. Odessa did not give every ounce of strength right away, but, upon feeling and seeing the other woman's arms flex, she gritted her teeth and put her all into it, knowing that they were close enough in strength that she would need everything she had to win.

Small beads of sweat formed on the darker-skinned Briton's forehead. Slowly, Odessa would try to push Alicia back. Slowly, she would try to impose her will on the other wrestler!

Again, the two women seemed to be on the same page as far as what they wanted to do was concerned. Both of them were more interested in a fair fight against a worthy opponent and, while Alicia certainly was more than eager to take the other Brit on in a fully-fledged match sooner rather than later, she was looking forward to this as well. For one, it was new and that left her decidedly intrigued.

Like Odessa had said, she might win some. Alicia would win others. They’d get a good idea of each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and that would just make their eventual match all the more intriguing.

And it would just be fun in general. Alicia was looking forward to it.

Not having anything else she wanted to say, she settled for returning a nod and an eager grin. And then they were off.

Not being at all familiar with this style of fighting, technique was firmly in Odessa’s court here and quite likely a noticeable edge in upper body strength to boot.

Slowly but surely, Alicia could feel her wrists bending back as the dark-skinned wrestler kept the pressure up. Her solid lower body meant she was able to keep her legs under her, denying Odessa the chance to force her down to her knees, but that was about all she could say. Her arms were shaking, sweat dripping down her own face a she strained.

It was looking increasingly like she was going to lose this and soon. But that didn’t mean she’d throw in the towel. She was still going to make Odessa win this, not hand it to her on a silver platter.

Reluctantly, under strain, Alicia took one step back. Then a second. Her arms were giving ground, until Odessa’s full chest was pressed against her own.

Her eyes narrowed as she dug up a little more strength, halting the retreat for a moment at least. But the stalemate couldn’t last…

At some point in the future, perhaps sooner rather than later, Odessa intended to take on her fellow London native in a full-on match. Alicia, as relatively new as she was, was already strong and had some impressive wrestling instincts. And, if she was going to be training, honing her skills, then she was going to get a lot more dangerous as an opponent as time went on. Perhaps Odessa should try to schedule their match as soon as she could, if she wanted to have the best chance of winning it.

She smirked smally, just to herself, though Alicia probably could see it as well. If Alicia got better, Odessa would get better, too. Odessa was constantly working on her skills, honing her technique, and trying to increase her muscle mass to pack as much power as she could. She wanted Alicia to be as strong as possible when they fought, because Odessa always aimed to be in better shape every match she fought.

Odessa applied a lot of force to Alicia's arms, pushing as hard as she could, trying to force her opponent backward directly. There were not a lot of options in a test of strength like this one. Soon enough, beads of sweat began to form on Odessa's forehead, and her body quivered slightly as she gave every ounce of strength that she could to trying to push Alicia. The other Briton's legs refused to buckle, robbing Odessa of the opportunity to push her down onto her knees. But just because she could not topple Alicia did not mean that there were no other ways to beat her. As slow as it was, she was gradually pushing her sparring partner back. Alicia shook more and more, and she took one step back, then another, then another.

Minutes passed, and it was obvious that, though Odessa had a clear advantage, Alicia had plenty of muscle to make Odessa work for this first victory. As their black spandex-clad bodies forced against each other, with Odessa's leaning forward and Alicia's bent back, Odessa knew she wanted to finish this off now. With a growl, she shoved hard one more time, trying to break that stalemate which Alicia had managed to create and throw her back again, maybe into the ropes!

Under normal circumstances, Alicia wouldn’t still be doing this. She’d have waited until Odessa was fully committed, let her think she’d got an edge and then slammed a knee into her belly. That was far more her style – standing grappling of any sort was well outside the kickboxer’s comfort zone at this point.

But winning wasn’t the point here, not that it ever was for her, so she resisted the instinct in favour of willing herself to keep her arms up at all costs, even as she felt sweat stinging her eyes.

It was harder than it sounded. There were the first feelings of serious strain in her upper body, quivers and shakes in the muscles unused to this sort of sustained strain against a woman who was certainly her match in strength.

As far as upper body muscle went there was nothing ‘likely’ about it, she was pretty sure Odessa had her beat.

The problem with near-stalemate was that it was making Alicia… well, complacent seemed the wrong word and so did comfortable. But it was that sort of idea, where she found herself lulled into the idea that she knew what to expect and then Odessa dug up another surge of power and it caught her entirely off-guard.

Despite the fact it really, really shouldn’t have.

But the darker-skinned of the two Brits had snarled and driven forward hard, her biceps flexing with strength. Alicia’s arms, already bowed back, couldn’t give any further and the redhead staggered back a step, then two…

Right into the ropes. So focused had she been on the contest of strength between the two, Alicia had thoroughly lost track of where they were in the ring. The sudden enforced halt, with the simultaneous awful feeling of going to put her foot down and finding nothing there, shook her literally and figuratively.

A leg bent. Dipped.

And then Odessa had Alicia down on one knee, the end now firmly in sight as the redhead had absolutely nowhere to go.

Odessa appreciated Alicia's willingness to stick this contest out even as it became more and more apparent that she would end up on the losing side of it. In an actual match, Odessa likely would have gotten kneed in the gut by now. It was the route that many, even most women took when they were losing a test of strength. Even Odessa herself had had to resort to it a time or two.

But right now, this was all about using their arms to battle, to test each other's muscles in a display of pure, raw strength. This was all about pushing, and they both respected that. This was Odessa's contest—that much they both knew, as Alicia wobbled and fell back at Odessa's sudden doubling-down of her pushing—but the next one could very well be Alicia's, and, when Odessa struggled, she would fight all the way to the bitter end, just as her fellow Briton did now.

Alicia's leg bent after she ran into the ropes, and the red-haired woman fell to one knee, no longer able to exert any meaningful force in the test of strength. Odessa eased up slightly, making sure to apply just enough pressure to keep Alicia from rising back up onto her feet. With gravity on her side, she could have kept pushing until Alicia was flat on the mat. But there was no sense in that.

Odessa smiled down on her fallen countrywoman. "Do you want to concede this round?" she would ask. "Next round's challenge would be yours to make."

Even when she found herself down on one knee, the kickboxer didn’t just give in. She still had enough of a base to keep herself from succumbing totally but, unless she could get back to her feet, it was just a matter of time. Adding leverage to the other advantages Odessa had already enjoyed took this particular contest from a losing battle to a lost battle, still going on only because her fellow Brit had let up on the pressure.

Not enough to let Alicia stand, of course, just enough that she wasn’t in danger of being flattened.

And, unlike a lot of wrestlers Alicia had seen around here, there wasn’t any mockery in her smile or tone. It was – the redhead felt – a genuine offer.

In a real match, there’d be some merit in pushing on, either just on the slim chance of keeping things going or to try and wring some more energy out of Odessa. Here, it was totally pointless and Alicia wasn’t by any means proud enough to force either of them to take this to its now inevitable conclusion.

Closing her eyes for a moment, her arms quivering now thanks to the positioning as much as Odessa’s strength, Alicia nodded in acquiescence.

With any luck, the dark-skinned wrestler would then relax the pressure and let go, so that the big redhead could stand – that wasn’t a comfortable position by any means and she didn’t want anything starting to cramp already. Besides, a good stretch would give her a moment to ponder what she could suggest for the second challenge.

It was tempting to go right for the scissors, but she was inclined to save that one for later on. Decisions, decisions…

Odessa waited for the sign from Alicia that she wanted to conclude this contest. Until then, Odessa would not insult Alicia by assuming that the girl had no more fight left in her. Alicia was obviously very strong, and even the force she was managing to generate from her downed position was enough that Odessa had to stay alert and continue to push hard down on top of her in order to keep her grounded. But Alicia was not foolishly proud, and she understood the nature of this sparring session as being such that one lone loss could hardly disappoint the loser that much.

Soon enough, she would have a chance to choose a contest of her own, and when she did, she more than likely would have a distinct advantage.

When Alicia nodded, it did not take long for Odessa to stop pushing her down. The ebony Londoner would let go of Alicia's hands and let the other woman's arms drop down, no longer needing to hold back her powerful onslaught. But Odessa would just as quickly bend down to gently hold onto Alicia's wrist with one hand and hoist upward, helping her countrywoman onto her feet so that she could stretch out and ponder what the next challenge would be. "Not a bad start. It's a good way to get the blood pumping, isn't it?"

Thankfully, while Alicia did appreciate Odessa not assuming she’d given up because she wouldn’t have liked that at all, the dark-skinned woman still let her up almost as soon as she’d given her the nod. In fact, she got a hand up – not necessary but the redhead wasn’t turning it down either. Using the assist, she pulled herself up to her feet and immediately began to stretch out her arms.

That said, Odessa definitely had a point. It hadn’t been a bad start and, in some ways, losing had just whetted Alicia’s hunger to see what other contests they could put each other through.

For the moment, her arms could use a break and she expected the other Brit’s were probably feeling less than at their best too.

So that left the legs, which was fortunately a good chance for her to even up the score. Even though Alicia didn’t mind losing, she also didn’t want Odessa thinking she was a pushover. Evening things up would be good, not to mention she wanted them both to pick challenges.

That ought to keep it more interesting.

”Ok, you got me on arm strength,” Alicia said, her tone casual though a slight smile was tugging at the edge of her lips, ”It’s my turn to pick, right? So how about we see how you measure up to these?”

The big redhead slapped a hand against one of her thick thighs.

”Up for a little leg wrestling?” She wasn’t even bothering to try hiding her grin now.

Alicia seemed happy to accept Odessa's proffered hand, though the darker-skinned Briton reckoned that her countrywoman probably did not need the assistance. One test of strength was not going to do a wrestler of Alicia's size and strength in. Once she was back on her feet, she began stretching out her arms again, and Odessa, feeling some tension built up in her own limbs, would do the same. After straining against a very strong foe, it was good to shake out all of that fatigue.

Now, it was Alicia's turn to choose the contest, and Odessa had a feeling that her 1-0 lead in this sparring series would not be safe for long. If Alicia had not been motivated enough before, then she surely would be now. Odessa put her hands on her hips and smiled as Alicia began to speak. Her eyes were leveled right at Alicia's, trying to hold the red-haired woman's gaze in something of an unofficial staring contest. However, when Alicia announced her choice for their next contest and slapped one of her thick thighs, Odessa's eyes couldn't help but follow that hand down to those powerful, toned legs.

She couldn't help but smile. Leg wrestling was an excellent follow-up to their original test of strength. A challenge of arms, and then a challenge of legs. "Oh, what a good idea," the ebony woman would say. With her hands still on her hips, she stepped forward and bent one leg up, crossing it with Alicia's, thick brown thigh passing just by thick white thigh. From where Odessa stood, she thought that their legs looked about equal in size and definition. That would only make the coming contest more interesting.

"I've been meaning to focus more on my lower body lately." Odessa would shift, moving her leg slightly and bumping Alicia's thigh with her own. "So, laying down, first leg to be pinned loses?"

Green eyes met violet in an impromptu contest that, for all that, was as closely fought as the arm-wrestling match had been before it. Certainly, Alicia had neither intended to start it nor, having found herself in one, did she have any intention to lose it. Unconscious competition or not on her part, the redhead still managed to score a victory there: once again, thanks to those legs of hers.

Alicia had the sort of curvy legs that people stopped and stared at – long and thick and muscular and prone to drawing admiring glances. It was just her thing; Odessa definitely wasn’t the first and she wasn’t going to be the last either.

With all that in mind, as well as her conviction that she’d come out the victor and tie the series in any fight involving their legs, the kickboxer was definitely very glad to hear that Odessa approved of the idea. Alicia too glanced down at the comparison between their legs, curious to see how they measured up. The dark-skinned thigh next to hers was certainly pretty impressive – the redheaded Amazon still thought she had the edge but Odessa’s gams came as close as anyone’s to matching hers as any she’d seen in AFW.

It’d be a pretty close call between hers and Mikayla’s.

Feeling the smooth skin of that thigh brush hers, Alicia pressed right back, flexing her big quads to give Odessa a clue of just how monstrous her lower body strength was. Just a hint, just a teaser. She’d get the real show in a minute.

”Seems fair,” She agreed, still maintaining the contact between their legs, shifting hers slightly to gently rub it against her countrywoman’s, ”Let’s see what you’ve got.”

With that, she broke contact and went to lie down on her back, raising her leg as she got ready for Odessa to join her and kick off the second round.