A Little Friendly Competition

Alicia, much as she’d given Eka room to get back up, was not given to giving her opponents much space. Her style was relentless, aggressive and on the brutal side and she wasn’t prone to pulling her punches too much. While she was happy to let Eka get back up because neither of them would gain anything from Alicia stomping her flat a minute in, there were definitely limits to her sense of mercy.

So it was right back in, punches firing one-two-three but to less than perfect effect. She scored two hits, one dead on the shoulder and the other bouncing off her opponent’s arm, while the third caught nothing but air.

Well, that would have been fine as they were as much set-up as anything. The knee that followed missing, that was a bit more of a problem.

Before she could reset her stance, draw her knee back from the failed strike, Alicia felt strong fingers wrap around her wrist and clamp down hard. And then Eka was twisting and the big redhead had just enough time to guess what was about to happen before she was in mid-air. A judo throw – not a part of Alicia’s own repertoire. Judo was popular as anything in MMA circles of course but her focus had always been on other stuff. Still, while she might not be a judoka herself, she still had some ideas about what to do.

As she went head over heels, she twisted her arm in Eka’s grip and went to grab a hold of the Georgian’s forearm, pulling hard. She might not be able to stop herself going to the mat but she could at least take the other woman down with her, to try and keep things on more equal terms.

Either way, Alicia went down hard. If she didn’t have any luck getting Eka on the mat too, she’d roll away and try to get some space between them until she could get up. If she had brought the Georgian down, the curvy Amazon would instead scramble to get on top of the brunette – if she could score mount, she’d have an edge in working position.

Eka smiled. She couldn't help it. After getting hit a few times, it was nice to score a blow of her own. The judo throw was one of the more fundamental parts of her wrestling repertoire. She could not recall the last match where she had not employed that particular move, and it almost always had the desired effect. The Georgian girl had caught the redhead out, which increased the throw's effectiveness by an order of magnitude. She was going to be home free and have the lay of the canvas.

Then things went awry. The world shifted. The ravenhaired girl couldn't quite tell what was wrong until she felt the tug on her arm. Eka's blue eyes widened with shock. Alicia must have been a better grappler than Eka first thought, as she countered the throw perfectly. The momentum Eka had brought about was now being used against her, and the Georgian girl found herself hurtling towards the ground.

The white expanse of canvas rose up to meet her and she let out a loud "Oof!" as her body smacked into the ground. Pain and surprise dazed her for a second, and in those precious few moments Alicia had seized the opportunity and secured a mount. It wasn't the most desirable situation to be in, but still. This was her home. This is where she earned her living.

Undeterred by the fact that the redhead was on top of her, Eka went to work. Just as she had done moments before, Eka went for Alicia's wrist. Wrist control was a vital part of winning fights, and winning this fight is exactly what she intended to do. Alicia's wrist was simply a means to an end. Eka tugged it to bow Alicia's head, at which point she would loop her arm around the redhead's neck and get her into a guillotine choke.

Eka might have thought ‘perfect counter’, Alicia was just glad her more-or-less improvised counter had worked.

At least, it put them on equal footing again, which she then did her best to turn into her advantage by moving on top of her opponent.

The big redhead was too old a hand at MMA grappling to think being on top meant she was in control. True, she wasn’t in Eka’s guard which would have been an entirely different kettle of bad news, but things could still get bad and quickly.

The hand clamping on her wrist before she could do anything with her newfound positional advantage was a pretty good sign along that path. She didn’t know what Eka was going for there, but arm control could lead to any number of joint locks or chokes.

The old saying might have been that the best defence was a good offence, but the best defence was also not getting caught in fight ending submission holds. Fortunately, Alicia had a good solid base of being in mount to work with, combined with her wide powerful hips making her hard to shift once she got on top of her opponent. Quickly, she went to plant her free hand on the mat, looking to use that and her position in mount to arrest her momentum and keep herself free of whatever Eka had in mind.

She was going to have to be on high alert here.

Her smile widened.

Awesome.

Whether that worked or not, her next move would still be exactly the same – start drilling short, sharp punches under the Georgian’s ribs as hard and fast as she could. Forearms to the head would be better but the positioning was all wrong. She could try rolling them and go for the scissors but then she’d give up her leverage and she didn’t want to see whether she could make Eka tap with a bodyscissors before her arm snapped.

So punches it was.

Eka didn't think it was going to be easy. But she didn't recognize that it was going to be this hard. Perhaps it was a bit naive to go for a move as brutal and complex as a guillotine choke this early in the game, but the Georgian girl had to try for something. When Alicia planted her hand on the mat, Eka recognized that the redhead's quick move signaled the end of the attack. Her blue eyes were wide, and the Georgian girl was awfully apprehensive about what was coming next.

Alicia gave her a good reason to. The redhead drilled her with a few quick punches before Eka got her defenses up and fended off the tail end of the combo. "You with your punches..." Eka meant to say her words as if they were a joke, but the pain she was feeling hung on her words and dragged them to a dark place. It was almost monotone and derisive. Before Eka got a chance to explain herself properly she launched into action.

Utilizing her speed, Eka folded herself up really quickly, trying to time it so she got her head between Alicia's arm and obliques. If that worked she would seize Alicia's arm with both hands and lean back, contorting the redhead into a cruel kimura. Her breathing was measured as she went about the complex move. If she made the slightest mistake in her movements, Alicia would have a few more free shots at her.

But if she didn't, Eka would be very much in the driver's seat. Alicia had made a mistake in moving this contest to the ground, even if she didn't know it yet. The pendulum was swinging pretty far away from the ravenhaired girl, and now it was time to see if she could get this train a rolling her way.

As was her wont, Alicia didn’t answer Eka’s comment, although here it was as much because she had to concentrate on the interactions of their bodies as any preference for silence. This wasn’t like grappling with Valley where she’d had the edge. This was dangerous, fast-paced, MMA-style grappling where every single move had to be kept in mind. Not just the big ones; every shift of every body part could be vital or lethal if not noted.

Speaking of which…

The second she felt Eka’s head block her arm up high, Alicia knew what was coming and what she’d got to do unless she wanted to give up the first fall there and then. More out of hope than any expectation it’d work, she tried to bring her arm down in an attempt to score a guillotine of her own. But Eka’s own arms were already in motion and she really didn’t think that’d work before the Georgian wrestler locked her up. She could almost feel fingers around her limb, encouraging her to move faster.

But it was a distraction at least and better than just giving up the arm. More dangerously, Alicia went to roll them onto their sides with the threatened arm on the bottom. If she could pin her own limb under her weight before Eka could twist it up, she could block her opponent from twisting it into the Kimura. Worth a try, Hail Mary or not. If it didn’t work, it’d make things worse but she’d be tapping anyway. So, worth a try.

Given she was in mount, it’d also give her a golden opportunity to get her deadly thighs around Eka’s waist. And the second she could, Alicia’s thick legs would be doing just that, snaking into place, stretching out to start compressing the Georgian’s midriff like pythons.

She could still do this. But she wasn’t going to rush back to the mat after this fall, whatever happened.

What on earth was Alicia doing? Was her desire to win, even in a meaningless spar, so overwhelming that she was willing to risk breaking her arm? As the redhead rolled over to try and make sure her arm was on the bottom of the two wrestling girls, Eka's eyes went wide. Is that why Eka kept losing? The Georgian girl always maintained a healthy sense of self-preservation, and would have never even considered an idea like that. She lost her grasp on Alicia's arm, partly because of how deftly the Brit was moving, but also out of deference to the concept of sportsmanship.

The ravenhaired girl paused. No, that was definitely why she lost over and over again. The bunny girl she had faced displayed no qualms about using and abusing underhanded tactics, and Eka was the clear loser of that contest. There was a lesson to be learned in that. A harsh lesson, but a useful one. Her wrestling coach would not be proud of her, but he was far away, in Alabama. He might not even find out. Eka hadn't talked to him in a long time. He hadn't talked to her either. In a confused and cynical mental state, the ravenhaired girl tried to germinate on plan on how to take this redhead down. She had already released what hold she had.

And she paid a very dear price for it. The Georgian girl had gotten so wrapped up in what was going on in the upper halves of their two bodies that she had completely forgotten about what was going on down south. Alicia used her mount to bring her awesome legs around Eka's body, and constrict her like a massive anaconda of the Amazon jungle. She had felt Cecilia's power in slam after slam, but she doubted the Northern Queen could summon forth strength such as this. Her tiny waist was hemmed in on all sides.

The Georgian girl suffered greatly. Her breathing became strained and dread was beginning to set in. In a panicked state, Eka thrashed against the hold, pushing on Alicia's strong legs fruitlessly. The pain was absolutely unbearable, and the ravenhaired girl turned this way and that, doing whatever she could to get this hydraulic press off of her!

Alicia was ready to tap. The second she felt that Kimura start to bite even a fraction, she’d tap and tap fast. A real match wasn’t worth a broken arm; a sparring session definitely wasn’t. That said, she did owe it to Eka to try her best. As long as there was something worth trying, she’d be selling the Georgian short if she didn’t try it. Admittedly within the bounds of what Alicia considered common sense, of course, but a real opponent wouldn’t be tapping from the threat of a Kimura.

She’d be doing a disservice to the Georgian if she caved that easily too.

And, as it happened, it worked. Whether it was surprise or the lack of room to apply the dangerous lock, Eka’s grip had fallen away and Alicia’s lower arm was now safe (if not terribly comfortable). Her other limb was now at risk but she kept that arm tight to her body for now, looking to make sure there’d be no repeat.

Of course, her opponent had plenty of other things to worry about.

While she’d been slipping the Kimura, Alicia had been able to get her legs around Eka’s waist as they’d rolled over. Immediately, instinctively, the redhead’s limbs had stretched out behind the Georgian, her ankles interlocking to form the fulcrum of her infamous bodyscissors.

And with that, she squeezed and squeezed hard with immediate effect.

Eka started to writhe and squirm, her breathing turning ragged and her hands uselessly pressing against the tops of those big thighs squashing her midsection flat. Her tormenter’s breathing, by contrast, was deep and regular, even.

Alicia took the opportunity to press her torso up against her opponent’s, clasping her hands behind Eka – not squeezing, that’d be redundant, but aiming to protect herself from any desperation armlocks. It also would hold the other wrestler tight, preventing too much wriggling.

Another woman would have told Eka to tap before something cracked. Alicia just buckled down and kept on squeezing, her only nod to it being a sparring session that she limited herself to about half of her full power.

Then things got worse. The pain in her body was far too concerning for Eka to do anything about Alicia leaning up and securing other parts of her body. Hell, the absolute torture that was going through her body forced her blue eyes shut and made her turn her head. She couldn't face Alicia, as the amount of pressure her body was under was simply too much. The Georgian girl took part in the lighter weight classes for the most part, and she imagined this what it must have been like for a three hundred pound dude to sit on you. Or two of them, or three of them.

Eka writhed some more and tried to shimmy free. Just as ever, her attempts were completely fruitless, but Eka would always try. Her eyes were open now and her yelps of pain filled the gym. Long strands of her black hair fell down in front of her face, obscuring her vision even further. It felt as if her chest was nearly on the point of caving in on itself. That would completely doom her career as a wrestler, and Eka was cognizant of that.

So she tapped. The Georgian girl felt she had no choice. There was no escape, no counter. This was the only way of making the insufferable hold come to an end, and Eka recognized that. They were doing best two of three, so this didn't end their match completely. But for a woman as proud of her submissions as Eka, it was admitting failure on a fairly grand scale. It was better than going through any more of this, though.

She could feel Eka trying to get free. She could feel the Georgian wrestler struggling, but it was the instinctive and useless struggles of an animal caught in a trap. Any strategies that the other woman knew about this position had clearly flown out of the window, her hands alternating that fruitless beating at the top of Alicia’s legs with equally futile attempts to tug them loose. She might as well have been trying to hold back the ocean for all the good it was doing her.

She wasn’t screaming but it was anyone’s guess whether that was because she was holding it back or because she no longer had the air in her lungs with which to wail. Pressed together as they were, with Alicia’s chin resting on Eka’s shoulder, the redhead couldn’t see her opponent’s face although she could imagine what it’d look like. Red, sweaty, eyes blown wide with shock, mouth wide in a desperate attempt to draw breath that felt like it’d never come.

It was really just a matter of time and it wasn’t that long before Eka made it official, her hand slapping Alicia’s upper thigh once, twice, thrice in the signal that she’d had enough.

Instantly, Alicia released her, rolling them down again so that the Georgian woman was flat on her back with the British Amazon astride her. She didn’t hold that position for long, pushing up to her feet with a grin.

That had been fun. Admittedly, Eka hadn’t made it as hard as Alicia had been hoping – she’d nearly got her with the Kimura but nearly only counted with horseshoes and hand grenades, or so that saying went.

But still. Fun. And they had two more rounds to go. Hopefully Eka would take this next one, though it never crossed Alicia’s mind to let her have it. Oh no. If Eka wanted it, she’d have to take it.

As soon as she was on her feet, Alicia reached down to offer a hand up to the Georgian.

”Nice. You nearly had me there.”

Eka was being hard on herself. Not outwardly, but she threw every insult she could in every language she knew towards herself. The Georgian girl was smart, and possessed a talent for language, whic made her feel at an all time low as she was lying on the ground. Had this been a real match, all of the people watching would have demanded a refund as the quality of the bout would have been so absurdly poor. Alicia had gotten her in one move, basically, and Eka folded under the pressure. Her blue eyes were closed as she rewound the situation in her head. What went wrong?

Well, everything. It was dumb to get taken down, it was dumb to not do anything about the mount, it was dumb to not press the kimura as much as she could have and it was dumb to struggle so ineffectively. Eka formed fists and hit her temples once, twice, three times. They were soft blows, but they came with whines that made Eka look completely pathetic. The way she appeared to everyone else mirrored how she felt about herself. This whole little sparring session had begun fairly disastrously. She started the day off feeling pretty bad, and now somehow she was feeling worse.

She opened her eyes when she heard Alicia speak. The redhead's words were calming, Eka forced herself to believe, as she honestly couldn't have taken it if they were patronizing. She extended her arm up and let the Brit help her to her feet. Sweat dripped off her body now, and her torso still ached from when Alicia put the clamps down on her. Once she was all the way up, she brushed her dark hair to the side, so that she could see.

The way forward was clear, but Eka didn't particularly like it. She had shown clemency, and had paid the price for it. The Georgian girl could not afford to be that naive again, especially not against an opponent as fearsome as Alicia was. But this was a spar, and she was still going to do her best to be a sport about things. Yet, she might not win, and that would push her lower still. A war raged inside her head, and she was not entirely sure which side she wanted to win.

"I was not so close, yes?" She spoke to try and relieve the tension she was feeling, but her conflicted emotions shined through. Her voice was a low rumble, miles away from the bright clear tone that those around her were accustomed to. The Georgian girl tried to shake that off too. "I am ready to go for the next round. When you are." Her attempts to sound better showed some results, but the look on her face was still one of anguish.