Practice Makes you Perfect(ly sore). (Spar, IC observers welcome)

She had played the scenario over in her head countless times. Thud. Exploding through sequin curtains to the sounds of uproarious cheers and applause. An instant darling in the hearts and mind of hundreds, no, thousands of strangers in an instant. Thud There would be signs of course, specially crafted for her, maybe even a chant. A small girl in the front row would have her hair styled just like her... She'd give her something. Thud Maybe a pair of sunglasses? She could afford that for an entrance attire at least, right?

Pain shot through her back accompanied by the sickly cracking thud of the practice ring beneath her. Focus girl, come on. She instinctively rolled over onto her stomach, biting down on her lip and drawing a stiff breath through her teeth. Now wasn't the time for daydreaming... It was far too late for that, literally. She took a moment to compose herself, hands finding purchase on the nearby rope. Violet eyes drifting towards the distant clock hung over the archway. It was far later than she had wanted to be out there practicing her bumps. Alexa found her footing once her lungs had decided to tag the rest of her body in, letting her walk the interior of the ring corner by corner to work out the bad landing. She hadn't thought to try and book time in the ring before actually arriving here, as a result she had spent the first two days on the elliptical and making a fool of herself with a medicine ball while waiting to be penciled in. Now, in the dead of night, there only the odd night owl in the gym to cast a sympathetic glance her way between thunderous crashes as she threw herself to the mat over and over. Part of her was thankful for that, secretly apprehensive now that everything was right in her face actually happening.

There was no sequin curtain here, just a smoked glass door to the locker room. The cheers and applause replaced by the choppy sound of FM radio blasting from her boombox set at ringside. Someone had told her to keep it up about twenty minutes ago... but she wasn't sure if that constituted a chant. She found herself in a corner, partially slumped down against the second turnbuckle, staring at herself. No fancy ring attire here, just an old Green Ranger T-shirt and a pair of cutoff yoga pants. She could only imagine the careful pun she had pinned her hair back into was a mess by now... and it was. "Least that little girl isn't here to see me like this, right? Chin up."

The young girl gave her cheeks light rhythmic slap to psyche herself back up. Her arms reached back, hooking themselves on the top rope to pull herself upright again. This was far easier back home when she had an actual partner to run through the moves with her rather than doing glorious battle against the phantom wrestler in her head. Pushing off the corner she charged herself towards the ropes, a practiced dance step of sneakers trading from ball to heel as her back dug into the ropes, springing her off them. A quick one, two... and she lurched forwards, arms swinging as she flipped herself onto her back, arching with the momentum on impact to lessen the blow. Thud. All that was left was to pick herself back up and do it again... no sense in wasting her gym time.

It's rare for Tomoko to come to the gym at night, but she felt like doing so because she wanted to train hard in order to improve herself. And the silence of the night certainly helped her to focus on her training, because training during the day made her a little nervous, as there were many people watching. Carrying her bag which contained her clothes and some essential things, she stepped into the gym and prepared herself to start her training.

Putting on her exercise attire, which consisted of a plain white shirt and a pair of black gym shorts, Tomoko prepared herself for her training regiment before she heard the sounds of a radio and someone bumping into the ring mat. Blinking, she approached the source of these sounds and saw a girl whom she never saw before, training herself on her own in the ring. Seeing her reminded Tomoko of the first time she began training herself in professional wrestling, which brought back memories. While practicing wrestling moves was important for a professional wrestler, the first thing one had to learn was how to properly take bumps while in the ring.

So, Tomoko would wordlessly watch the girl training herself, not saying anything as she witnessed what she did in the ring. She somehow forgot what she she actually wanted to do here in the first place as she became engrossed with what the girl was doing at the moment.

She always found it easier to work to music, timing movements to a steady beat not unlike a metronome. The boom box however was less than optimal when compared to the tiny mp3 player she used when on a routine workout. Didn't make much sense to crash around in the ring with something so delicate... Besides she was sure the headphones wouldn't stay in if she tried. So the old boom box had to do, the radio being its primary source of media consumption. It still had a working tape deck, but it wasn't like cassette tapes were common these days. Hers were still buried in one of her boxes from the move. I should really unpack.

She had moved on from throwing herself to the mat now to running herself from one turnbuckle to the other. Practicing turning at the last moment to absorb most of her momentum into the ropes with her back and arms down to something she was very comfortable with. Her trainer back home expressed the importance of her familiarizing herself with landing safety with ground bumps and various types of rope play. Awareness was key, if you were reeling from one move it opened you up to another... Getting chain wrestled was a legitimate threat, especially when put up against someone with more experience in the ring than her.

Something was amiss here though, she could feel it. A nagging pressure in the back of her mind. It had been there for a minute or two now, but she couldn't ignore it any longer. Pushing off the corner again, she walked the interior of the ring in a cool down lap, stretching her arms above her head. Alexa stopped dead, mid stretch becoming something of an awkward mid step statue, her only movement was to blink as she met eyes with Tomoko. A few other passerbys had paid her very little mind earlier, but this girl was just... Staring. She could feel heat rise in her cheeks with a rosy blush of.what was likely embarrassment. Was she doing something wrong? Was this weird? Why was this person starting? She suddenly felt incredibly childish. Why was this a big deal? Surely all eyes being on her was something she'd have to get use to when she finally debuted.

Play it cool. Maybe she's a fan? Her arms slowly lowered to her sides as she found herself walking from the far end of the ring to where Tomoko stood. A fan of what? Nobody even knows you yet. Suddenly self conscious of how disheveled she surely looked she tried to casually fix her shirt and tend to her hair. She smiled down at the stranger, though not as smooth as she was hoping. She looked soft of goofy, half out of breath with a big dumb grin on her face. "Hey there. Have the whole night owl thing down to a science, huh?" She brought her hands to her face, gesturing makeshift glasses with her thumb and pointer fingers, in this case trying to convey the wide unblinking eyes of an actual owl. "You didn't need the ring, did you?" She folded her arms on the top rope, peering down to the girl below.

Tomoko noticed that the girl was using the radio like some kind of metronome, using its rhythmic sounds as her guide while moving. She could see its effectiveness if applied in real matches, with each move being calculated, giving oneself an individualized style while in the ring. Still, the girl also needed someone to train with her, or at least a trainer to help her out with her training. Then again, she was training alone at night, which meant that she had her own reason to train on her own, with only an old radio as her guide.

And then, the girl stopped as she noticed Tomoko's presence. Tomoko felt a little awkward when the girl caught her staring at her training. Though the girl's impression of an owl managed to get a laugh out of her. "Oh, please don't worry, I'm just watching..." Tomoko said, smiling reassuringly at the girl. "I'm sorry if I disturbed your training..." Tomoko apologized, thinking that she might get in the girl's way.

Tomoko then looked around. Besides a few passers-by who paid then a few glances, it seemed that the girl really had no one else to help her out in her training. "So..." Tomoko began. "Are you new here?" She asked the girl in friendly tone, trying to get something out of the girl.

"I can't help it, I'm already worrying. So much." She mused with a smile, tone lighthearted and playful was a dead give away she was just joking. The brunette rested her chin atop her forearms, leaning into the ropes so she bobbed against their elasticity. It was nice, getting more than a few words out of someone around here. Tomoko had been the first person to actually stop and talk to her... and the break from throwing herself around the ring was secretly welcome. The stranger had made mention of the fact Alexa was training, which was a relief. The last thing she needed as giving people the impression she was fist fighting ghosts. She wasn't aware if the gym was strictly for AFW members, but it was safe to assume this girl was at least familiar with the craft. "It's okay, I could use the breather. It's tough beating up on yourself, ya'know?" She made sure to keep some motion, a gentle sway to her body, a small bounce now and then on the balls of her feet. She didn't want to get too comfortable standing around.

"Super new, just got in a few days ago actually." Alexa had a casual friendly air about her, Tomoko giving her no real reason to be on edge. Pressing into the ropes one last time, she bounced back enough to stand fully upright before slipping herself down to sit cross legged in the ring. She thrust a hand under the bottom ropes, offering a shake to the stranger. "AJ." She smiled, seemingly holding back a laugh at something she just though to do. "And hoo, are you?" She was really going all in on the owl thing.

So, Tomoko was right to assume that the girl was new. No wonder she had never seen her before. Well, it wouldn't hurt to get to know her more, especially since she had been working hard all by herself. Standing just in front of the girl who was leaning against the ropes, Tomoko had to look up to look at the girl. When the girl introduced herself and then asked her about her name, followed with an owl pun, Tomoko giggled before she spoke, "I'm Tomoko..." smiling brightly, Tomoko tilted her head for extra cuteness. "Tomoko Iida..."

"So... are you training on your own?" Then, Tomoko asked. She was curious about how AJ did her training, and she didn't seem to have a partner to train alongside with.

Alexa hands idly drummed on her exposed thighs, keeping with the beat of the distant music from her boombox. She found herself unable to resist returning the smile, something about this girl's aura was infectious with a cheerful vibe. She was very tempted to reach out and just pinch one of Tomoko's cheeks in that way grandparents are stereotyped doing all the time. She resisted though, because not only would that have been rude, but somewhat creepy. With a soft sigh, she nodded in response. "Yep, all on my lonesome... Sorta directionless really." She hung her head at the realization of it now. Without her trainer here, she was just going through the motions. How was she suppose to improve?

Breathing in deeply she combed her fingers through her hair, drawing a few stray strands back from her face. There was no need to be down on herself. After all, she just got here. Rome wasn't built in a day, that was the saying. "What brings you out here Tomoko?" She felt a bit silly after asking as her violet eyes sized the other girl up. They were inside a gym after all. Clearly she was here to work out by what she was wearing. She rocked lightly on her backside, remaining in the sitting crossed legged position on the mat.

Hearing Alexa's question, Tomoko answered, "I'm here to train, you see?" She could just answer the other girl's question with a sarcastic 'duh!', but she wasn't one to say such rude things to someone, especially to a stranger. "Usually, my mom would come here with me as my personal trainer. She's a former wrestler herself, so she'd been teaching me lots of things..." she said, recalling all the things her mother had taught her. Still, her mother was busy at the moment, and Tomoko had to make do with training on her own. "Well, she's not here with me tonight, as you can see..."

And then, Tomoko got an idea. "Would you like me to help you out in your training? I'm not really a trainer, but having a partner helping you out is much better than training alone," she suggested to Alexa. "What do you think? Do you want to try out your moves with me?" Tomoko smiled cutely at Alexa, thinking that it was a solid idea. "Maybe we can even exchange notes and stuff so we can improve each other."

Then, she scratched her cheek, looking aside. "W-well, if you don't feel like it, t-that's okay too..." she said, looking a little awkward and embarrassed. She shouldn't impose herself to others, so she should see whether Alexa would accept her suggestion or not.

She leaned forward, smacking her forehead lightly against the bottom rope. "I see." She confirms, feeling a smidgen dumb for having asked the question to begin with. She sat upright again, visibly perking up at the mention of Tomoko's mother. "Oh, hey, so you're a a similiar boat to me. Family business in the ring, and flying solo for the night." She grasped for the ropes, hoisting herself back up with a small groan. She was a bit tired, and slightly beat up, but this was an opportunity she couldn't pass up.

"Would I ever! get in here, partner!" She sat herself on the middle rope, lifting the top rope up to give Tomoko ample space to get into the ring. It was almost like the wrestler's equivalent to holding a door for someone, to her at least. She was grinning from ear to ear, the excitement radiating off of her. Her first time sharing a wrestling ring with someone since she got here. Regardless of how experienced Tomoko was, she was about to learn something from what she assumed was a local wrestling style.

"I didn't think to bring a pad and pen" She joked with a chuckle. "But I'm pretty sharp, sometimes. I'll file it away up here." She tapped the side of her head. "What did you have in mind? A little move demonstration or something fun, like a impromptu match?" She was almost chomping at the bit at the thought of turning this night around and getting some real experience under her belt. "I'm not picky."

"Thank you," Tomoko said as she would heave herself up the apron and slip into the ring. Doing a little stretching up after entering the ring, she would then hop on the balls of her feet, causing her generous chest to shake a little as she jumped. After she's done, she looked at her training partner and listened to what she said.

"Well... why don't we try with something much simpler first?" Tomoko suggested, rolling her left shoulder. "Just a bit of demonstrations and showing moves. What kind of things do you have on your mind?" Tomoko considered herself to be a jill-of-all-stats, having no area that she excelled except maybe her high endurance. So, she thought that she might be able to match with her training partner at the moment.