Of All The People To Bump In To....

Peggy was back in the gym for the first time since her last match, a loss that sent her soul searching as well as to the paramedics. She hadn't found any of the answers she was looking for, namely if she should keep wrestling or not. She did however suffer a concussion that left her laid up for a while. Today she was cleared for light exercise bit not was bound to be weeks until she was cleared to wrestle again, if not another month.

Peggy was wearing a pair of green shorts, sneakers and a black tanktop as she made her way over to a bike, going slow to moderate in speed with moderate resistance. Right now it was all she could do. She still wasn't sure of what her future was, but she was here because she had nothing better to so and it was all she had known. She was still in disbief that for all her time around the ring she had struggled the way she had against women practically picking up wrestling for the first time.

Hopefully she was going to find some answers one way or the other.

Lucia:

Lucia came to the gym a few days a week unless she knew she wasn't needed at the arena. In cases like that she would come a bit more often. Despite having been an actress, she was far from a layabout. She was a very physical woman, while her critics like to tear down her movies, they couldn't even touch the stunt work which had remained practical effects and pure grit for most of her career. Most of that however was behind her now, nobody wanted her.

A duffle bag slung over her shoulders she shoved her way I to the gym, thankful there hadn't been any paparazzi waiting today. She cycled her gyms to try and keep herself elusive to actually get a good workout in. She walked along the indoor jogging path on her way to the lockers when something gave her pause. She came to a slow stop, eyeing a familiar redhead on an exercise bike.

She hadn't seen Peggy since their match, and while she wasn't privy to what had happened in regards of her medical health, she did know the woman had been out of commission from asking around backstage. With a bit of doing she had even managed to get her address and sent a get well soon card, but no response back. Unlike Paige, she harbored no I'll will for the Irish woman, but she wasn't sure if that was mutual.

Glancing both ways, she crossed the two lane track to weave her way past the exercise machines to make her way over. "Hey." She adjusted her duffle bag in her hand, reshouldering it to deal with the weight. "How are... Things?" She eyed the woman up and down, a bit surprised to see her on a bike instead of something like weights. The woman. Had some serious muscle behind her.

Peggy was off in her own little world when Lucia spoke. The words were not threatening in any way but they were still like daggers to Peggy. The new lady who mopped the floor with the more experienced wrestler. Peggy was silent for a minute before answering even though she kept her stare focused straight ahead. "I'm fine. Still not medically clear yet but I am fine." Peggy said, sighing a bit. "Whats new with you since..." Peggy paused. Since she kicked Peggys ass all over the ring was what she wanted to say, it would have been accurate. "...your debut win?"

Peggy figured Lucia with all the fanfare that she had never had, and a win to boot in her debut would be on the list of women to push towards the top. It is how things worked. That is why Peggy had to beg for matches still unless it was a tag match. She was able to ride Alaina's popularity and success coat-tails into getting action on that front even though she couldn't shake the "weak link" label.

Lucia slipped the strap off her shoulder and lowered her bag to the ground. If Peggy wasn't shooing her off immediately, that was a good sign right? She idly brushed back some of her bangs, nodding along with what the redhead was saying. So it was true after all, she banged Peggy up pretty good. Was it just the strikes at the end of their match or did it happen before? The redhead had just kept going... Did she have a choice otherwise?

"I'm sorry... About putting you on the shelf." She wasn't sure how to word it, it would be awkward regardless of her choice here. She had her fair share of injuries happen at her hand while filming too. Some stunts called for precise timing, one screw up and someone would get hurt, it wasn't always her. It never really felt good leaving someone else hurt because of you, at least not to her.

"Slow, and mostly the same actually. I haven't been too busy outside of training up. My trainer keeps me pretty busy." She gave Peggy a small smile. It seemed like her presence might be salting old wounds with the woman, so was doing her best to avoid bringing it up. "I uh... Sent a card, I don't know if it actually got to you." After she had mentioned it, it seemed dumb to bring it up now. She slipped her fingers through her hair, slicking it back for a moment before it spring back into place.

"I'm sure you'll be back at it in no time. You're a pretty tough cookie, ya'know." Lucia slipped her hands behind her head, lacing her fingers in between one another. "My trainer is always riding me about learning from as many sources as possible. Broadening horizons and all that. Maybe once you get cleared you could walk me through one or two of your moves. No pressure." Lucia was a slow learner. Not because she was bad at picking stuff up, but because she wanted to get something down perfectly before moving on. It was a habit she picked up in her acting career, one that had been no source of dispute with her trainer.

"You fought n' were better in the ring than me. It happens, happens to me a lot it seems. Actresses n' singers show up outta nowhere n' put me down these days it seems." Peggy said flatly, keeping her are forward. "It might have come, Alaina got the mail and left stuff out so it may be there, I am not sure. But.... thanks." Peggy said, actually meaning the last part even though she did a poor job conveying that.

Peggy looked up and raised an eyebrow, making eye contact with Lucia. "So let me get this straight. Ya show up in a ring, treating it like a stage of convenience and ya make short work o' me even though I grew up around a ring and lived wrestling. To me and my family that thing was a way of life, the way ya kept a family fed. To you it is a stage. Now ya want me to show you moves so you can keep up an act inside those ropes?" Peggy said, sounding partially upset, and partially confused. She wasn't sure what to think of this lady. She was a complete opposite inside and outside the ring.

"Yeah, well, maybe that night. It's not always as clear cut as the better person is always going to win. It's why they call them upsets." She shrugged lightly, listening along. "AFW has a lot of entertainment personalities in it eh? Guess that explains why they offered me a job if that's fairly common..." She tilted her head, eyeing Peggy. Did the redhead think less of her abilities, just because of where she came from before hand? That seemed, pretty silly to her, especially given how she managed to win. When it came to wrestling, there was no doubt Peggy was her better. She hadn't out wrestled the woman, she had taken their fight to a brawl and managed to out strike her. She wasn't about to split hairs though. She hadn't wanted to lecture Peggy, especially if the woman was seemingly bitter about having lost to her.

She leaned back a bit as Peggy gave her a look about asking for tips, wincing a bit as she spoke. She wouldn't have worded with quite like that. There hadn't been anything all that convenient it uprooting her life to come to Japan. If anything she was just chasing fame and money she already had and lost in the states. She wasn't going to admit that, especially to a woman who was still a bit of a stranger. Everything else though, she understood, all too well actually. "I mean... It was the same in my business. Doesn't matter how long I was acting for, or how good my older movies were. Eventually I got beat out for roles by other people who weren't in it as long as me. Didn't mean I wasn't still good, or I wasn't hungry enough..." It wasn't exactly an apples to apples comparison, but it gave them some sort of commonality to how it felt to lose to someone you may have thought to not be as good or well practiced as you.

"Listen, obviously wrestling isn't the same thing to me as it is to you, but that doesn't make much of a difference on what we do in the ring, does it? Wrestling is a sport, but it's also entertainment. All those people don't come to just see a fight. They come to see a show. Personality. Theatrics. If they wanted to see two women just kick the shit out of each other they have MMA among other things. I aim to go out there and do my best, but make it something worth watching either way. I could be the greatest wrestler that ever lived, but if I don't do something to catch people's eye and draw them in, invest them in what I'm doing, they aren't going to even remember me down the line. It's the same thing for movies. Interesting characters sell the story. If you think what I do in the ring is just an act..." She gestured towards Peggy, giving her a questioning look. "Think I proved well enough I am here to hang."

"You don't like what I do, think it's too showy or whatever, not enough skill? So, help me change that and show me what it is you think I should be doing." Lucia baleld up her hands, setting them firmly on her hips as she gave Peggy a challenging look.

Peggy put a lot of thought into what Lucia was saying. She had been told by many people that she took losses badly. That was very true. It was part of her, her intensity, her drive. She was who she was, no sense in pretending otherwise. "It is pride. I was in the habit of out brawling' people n' went back to it because it is a strength, or was. You know when you feel like you re the better woman n' then ya get shown up or proven otherwise how it feels then. Just grinning ear to ear after losing just ain't me. If you want to work together, I am game." Peggy said, still biking along.

"Once I get clear o' this post-concussion syndrome or whatever it is I will get in touch with you if you feel like you can learn anything from me." Peggy said, looking over again at Lucia staring her in the eye.

"I know the feeling." She remarked with a sigh. The rejection of role after role sending her acting career in a spiral had been a pretty big shock to her. She went from a sought after actress with a bright future to a straight to Blu-ray hasbeen in such a short span of time. Despite her formal training, despite her physically, despite her passion for the art, it didn't amount for anything when nobody gave her a chance to shine someplace else. She was too known as the wolf girl on that cheesy series that plummeted into a dumpster. That was all she was to them.

"Pride is a funny thing. Could be a great motivator, or your biggest enemy. I would like to say it's something you can get past eventually... But I still get tied down a bit with my own." She glanced off to the side, snorting softly. As much as she liked to pretend, she knew she had some ego problems when it came to being an actress. She would still watch movies or shows and get catty about people in roles she knew she could play better.

Her eyes drifted back to Peggy to meet her gaze. "I'd appreciate the help. Nothing too demanding, just a few tips and moves maybe. I don't want to steal too much of your time." Lucia paused as the two watched either other in silence for a moment. A single question popped into her head, it was rude honestly, but she felt she had to ask it. "You ever smile? It's okay to ease off being serious sometimes."

Peggy kept running and looked over at Lucia with a raised eyebrow.. and slight smile creeping in. "Lass, that showmanship... as much as it drove me nuts in the ring... is a gift. Ya get the crowd to rally with ya better n' I ever could. Use it and work it. Ride the momentum." Peggy said before a big grin appeared on her face. "Oh we'll train together. I will bring ya to the gym with me n' show ya what I can. Then I'll spar with ya and suplex ya so senseless that you will beg to face my roomie at home in the ring instead o' me." Peggy said, meaning Alaina, her tag team partner.

Peggy was feeling a bit better, her pride less beaten down. Still, part of her would have loved another shot at Lucia. She would have more respect for her, knowledge of her moves... as well as a far greater appreciation of the woman as a grappler and person.

"Charisma is one thing I know all about. That is something that carries into most things, not just entertainment." Lucia gave a small wink. "Ah, there's that smile... Now we just need to work on it showing up when you aren't threatening to grind my bones to make your bread or something. I'm suppose to be the big bad wolf here after all." It was nice to have a bit of the murky undertone of whether or not Peggy despised her banished. She hadn't made many friends since coming to AFW. Her reception had been a mixed bads of fans and haters of her movie work and people critical of her costume... Go figure.

"Just wanted some tips and now you want to put your hands all over me. Behave." She was clearly joking, giving the girl a wide grin. "A spar sounds like it could be interesting once you're better... But I have a price." She waggled her eyebrows at Peggy. "I want to hear you do my howl." She step over the front of the exercise bike, the middle between her legs as she folded her arms across the console/handlebars section to stare the girl straight on. "We got the smile, now let's get rid of the inhibitions."