Raising the Bar

Okay. Cammy had gotten her there, she could admit it.

It wasn’t just a sneaky move, but a well-timed one. Blossom had never really been all that good with strikes, and her blonde foe had some top-notch ones at it turned out. The blow knocked the wind clean out of her, and the opportunity wasn’t one that Cammy passed over. At least, not before she’d gotten in some of her taunting. Of course.

After that, though, it was swiftly back to business, as she sent Blossom running towards the ropes at full speed. No doubt she was expecting the pint-sized powerhouse to come hurtling back towards her, but she had other ideas.

Instead, Blossom grabbed the ropes, wrapped her arms around the top one, and stopped her momentum dead in its tracks. For a moment, she stood there like a deer in the headlights, waiting to see how Cammy would react to her mixup.

Millie couldn't help but take a small amount of pleasure in watching Blossom stop herself against the ropes. As a referee, even a temporary unofficial one, she was supposed to remain impartial, but damn if seeing Cammy's clothesline setup fail wasn't satisfying. Even more satisfying was the way that her painted smile slowly formed into a pout.

The blonde was upset, and pouted over at the American for a moment after she stood around with her arm held out for a moment, looking like a fool. "Oh, do you not like me?" She pouted, backing up.

That was fine, if Blossom didn't want to come to her, she'd go to the American. After taking a few steps back towards the ropes, Cammy would launch herself backwards against them, then charge forwards, her smile returning as she aimed a kick at Blossom's chest.

Blossom breathed a sigh of relief as she nailed the move, effectively canceling Cammy’s clothesline. It was a small thing, but she took some satisfaction in it - timing was one of the things that had continually bit her in the butt when she started wrestling the squared circle, never quite getting used to the added element the ropes offered.  It was good to see her training with Death Bunny was paying off.

But at best, it was a delaying tactic. She still had Cammy to deal with, and she was wide open now, a fact that her blonde foe was quick to exploit. With a little bounce, she came bounding towards Blossom at full steam, looking to steamroll her.

Wait for it.

Wait for it…

Blossom waited until the last moment, then dropped flat to her back, narrowly letting the kick fly over her as she fell. At the same time, she grabbed the ropes and pulled down, attempting to let the kick sail through and get Cammy tangled up.

"YAH!" Cammy shouted as she raised her boot up, her smile taking on a distinctly smug tone as she imagined knocking the American back into the ropes, so when that was taken from her the smile dropped fast.

Cammy's head snapped down as Blossom dropped to her back, her lips twisting into a frown, then to a scowl for a split second as she realized what had just happened.

"Augh!" She shouted, feeling her leg sail through the ropes and leave her off balance, falling forwards into the ropes, leaving her all tangled up, eyes taking up a more sinister sharpness as she glared down at Blossom like a spoiled child that had just had a toy taken away from her. She'd been looking forwards to that, and not only had it been taken away from her, but she was left looking the fool.

The glare was quickly directed back at Millie as the Briton couldn't help but let out a "Snrrrrk!" At seeing her manager in such a ridiculous pose.

Huh. That worked.

Blossom wanted it to, of course, since it was infinitely preferable to being kicked in the head and being floored. But she wasn’t exactly sure she could pull it off - she’d seen other wrestlers do similar tricks, but that didn’t mean she was capable of getting the timing right.

But, well, a little boldness went along way. Not only did it work, it worked like a charm.

She wasn’t dumb enough to rest on her laurels, though, so she went back to work immediately, moving in on Cammy after throwing a quick wink Millie’s way. Looking to ‘help’ Cammy get off the ropes, she reached out and tried to snag her with a headlock, looking to pull her away and constrict her all at once.

Millie had to admit, she had been in a better mood ever since she'd met Blossom. Before this she'd had a friend in the AFW. One. Singular. And Ava was pretty much relegated to being a drinking buddy. Blossom was a friend. Sure they'd gone drinking to start, but they were doing things other than drinking. Which was probably a good thing for the Briton, plus the American just kind of had this way of casting a happier view on things.

That was also probably a good thing for the Briton.

Smiling at the wink, Millie responded in kind, and threw in a finger gun just to add to the gesture. Despite things getting a little icy earlier, the two of them seemed to be in a good mood.

Cammy, however, was definitely not sharing their perspective. The blonde let out a small growl as she was pulled from the ropes in a headlock, throwing an elbow back at the American's stomach as she was growing more than a little angry of things not going her way.

Blossom tried hard not to giggle when Millie shot the finger gun back her way...and failed miserably, busting out with a quick, improper chortle. It was just too sweet to see her new friend drop her whole stiff cover and come out of her shell a little bit, and she could tell this wasn’t a side of her she showed off. Blossom was getting to see the rare Millie, almost like she got to see the rare Death Bunny. It was a special privilege, one she cherished in both cases.

She was happy. Millie was happy. Cammy...not so much.

Blossom wasn’t able to enjoy her hold for much longer. As well-applied as it was, Cammy was clearly driven to escape, and that was precisely what happened - soon after she was pulled away from the ropes, she threw out an elbow that sunk deep into her gut and knocked the wind clean out of her. Partly from the pain and partly from surprise, Blossom let go of the hold and stumbled away, opening herself up nice and wide.

Millie couldn't help but let out a bit of a laugh at the sight and sound of Blossom chortling. Cammy certainly didn't look like she was enjoying this whole situation as much as the two of them were, but that was Cammy. She was all purrs and backhanded compliments when she was happy, then scowls and straight up insults when she was mad.

Still, despite expecting Cammy to do something, Millie couldn't stop herself from wincing when she watched that elbow smack into Blossom's gut and send the American reeling. Her new friend stumbled away, leaving a big opening for her opponent.

An opening that the blonde had no intention of letting go to waste. Cammy surged forwards, her pretty painted lips currently scowling at the American as she would try and grab Blossom, attempting to duck her head under the American's shoulder, and wrap an arm around her waist.

"Been wanting to try this one for a LONG time," she'd quietly snarl. "Seems like a good time to try..."

If successful, Cammy would then try to flip Blossom over backwards and slam her into the canvas, aiming to get in a Northern Lights suplex.

Cammy was going for a Northern Lights Suplex.

As a suplex aficionado herself, Blossom recognized the setup easily, almost before she’d even had a chance to lock it in. The telltale signs were there: the way Cammy dropped and moved, clearly attempting to come in low, the curve of her back, the readiness in her legs. Maybe not the most ideal choice given their height difference, but the blond made it work, in some way.

And, further to her credit, it was well-executed. She brought Blossom’s bulky body up, over, and crashing down on her back with an authoritative slam that shook the ring. All Blossom could do was lay there and groan, as she reeled from the taste of her own medicine.

”Nice...one.” She sighed and gave Cammy a quick thumbs up. ”Gonna do the floatover?”

Millie had to admit, she was impressed. Not by Cammy's move, though the fact that the taller woman managed to get herself into a position to use a suplex on that on someone Blossom's size went to prove how skilled the blonde actually was. But what really impressed Millie was how, even dealing with an angry wrestler that just suplexed her, Blossom was still so happy.

Millie seemed to be alone in that feeling though. In fact, the cheerfulness that Blossom was displaying seemed to just annoy Cammy more as she sent a glare down at her opponent.

The blonde responded to Blossom's question with a simple grunt, then attempted to roll over the American and launch them back up to their feet, aiming to float over into another Northern Lights suplex.