Preparing for the Climb

Reiko Ishida:

It was a special day when Devine had confirmed in her to assist her for the day. Normally when something went down, it was Stone who she had kept on speed dial. While it was certainly true the big bruiser of the Valkyries had been busier lately with cleaning house in Tension, whatever this was seemed to be more AFW business. The two had traveled here together on the back of the Brazilian's fine ride, with Reiko getting to cozy up real close riding bitch since she didn't have her own bike yet. Likely wouldn't until she earned her colors. She couldn't really complain for the chance to wrap her arms around probably the s first woman in the whole gang.

The two women had entered the building through a back door with Reiko caddying a duffel bag that had some heft in it for her fellow Valkyrie. She wasn't sure why they were here or how Devine had access to this area of the building, but she was hoping the other woman had brought her specially for her tagging prowess. She never got nearly enough credit for the sick art she scrawled across the city, promoting the gang in her unique abstract street art. While they walked the quiet back halls, the young punk peeked down passing portions of corridors spying several other labeled rooms or in one case something that looked like a whole sound stage with a movie set. AFW filmed some wonky shit, so she didn't put it past them to go in hard with some of the weirder stuff.

"So… what are we doing?" Reiko hefted the bag, reshouldering the weight as they walked. She really wasn't one to ask questions of her made sisters in arms, but this was starting to feel almost like she was being walked someplace remote to be put down. Maybe Devine was secretly, under all that lounging about and flirting, was the real stone cold killer of the gang and this was where the young biker was going to die. Buried under some freshly poured cement in a new wing of the Tension arena… she shivered, dismissing her outlandish runaway imagination but found herself giving the bag she was holding a cautious look. Finding herself lagging behind, she passed quickly after Devine to catch back up.

Devine still remembered the first time she saw Reiko quite clearly, especially since she was partly the reason that they crossed paths in the first place. Her motorcycle had been messed up after a bar fight, where some guy had wailed on it with a crowbar and messed up the exhaust. Mako had tried to fix the thing, and she was usually good enough on her own to get it done, but this was one of the exceptions. They needed a professional eye on the cheap, so they hooked up with this garage in the neighborhood that they frequented for parts.

As she was lounging around waiting for the work to get done, she’d spied this cute little Japanese girl, maybe not out of her teens, with the bright hair, wandering around the place like a lost puppy. The girl was ogling them, clearly digging the Valkyrie setup, looking on at them in something approaching sheer awe. She’d thought about cashing in on that and hitting on her, seeing which way she swung, but decided against it, not in the mood at the time. She hadn’t known, couldn’t have known, that the girl would eventually try to join up, but when she did, Devine’s voice mixed with Stone’s to push Mako into letting her in.

It was the right call. Reiko was a great addition to their gang. Kind of a kiss-ass, but eager to please, willing to help out with just about anything, fun to mess with, pretty much the only tagger they had, and great at fixing up the bikes - better than Mako, even, though nobody would be dumb enough to say that within her earshot.

So she was happy to have the Valkyrie-In-Training along with her today, putting a smile on her face as she click-clacked through the halls, her high-heeled boots echoing with every sultry step she took. Leather pants swaying, hair swinging this way and that, she walked with a proud stride, making it a little hard for Reiko to keep up behind her. When she tried to catch up, Devine skipped ahead a bit, just to make some extra distance, and looked back at her with a giggle and a smile.

”I was wondering how long it would take you to ask me that.” Seriously, how many people would go this long without asking what they were up to? It was adorable. ”I got a match, puppy. Need your help to warm up for it, is all. Simple.”

Speaking of, where was the prep room? She was told it was down this way, shouldn’t have been too far, now. Hall 2A, third door on the right…

Reiko furrowed her brow as Devine pulled back ahead of her. The thought that her biker sister was doing it on purpose never crossed her mind, instead choosing to blame those long legs of the Brazilian's for how much more ground she could cover. Just as the rookie had caught back up with a job, she had to dip back as the duffel bag strap slipped her shoulder. Hiking the extra weight up, she dipped her head to slip it over her hair, where it would securely angle across her chest.

When she did make her way back, she caught Devine smiling at her which made her snap up a bit straighter and work that extra bit harder to keep up with her, increasing her pace as she handled the extra weight. “Well I didn't think we were going to be going so far…” She tried to say that without sounding like she was whining.

“Warm up for it?” Reiko inquired sheepishly. The type of matches Devine normally took part in was no real surprise. She was a woman who could be described in many words, but subtle generally wasn’t one of them. There was a slight rosy hue to her cheeks, a rare thing from the usually hotheaded spitfire. Nobody outside of her sisters ever got to see this side of her. Nobody else was worth her time other than the Valkyries.

“I didn’t really bring any of my gear if you were looking to spar or something.”

”A little walk won’t kill you, cachorra.” She spun about on her heels just long enough to wink at Reiko, then went right back to strutting. ”Keep up.”

It wasn’t too long after that they came to their destination, anyway - a maroon colored door with a paper sign on it, reading Devine. ”Here we are.” She gave the sign a quick tap. ”And don’t worry. All I need are those soft, pretty hands on yours.”

She bounced her eyebrows, then opened the door to reveal what was, for all intents and purposes, a standard dressing room, not unlike the ones every had to get ready in for their matches. A dresser with various care products on it, some makeup, items of a much more personal and private nature. It seemed like someone had left a paddle and ball gag on the table from the previous match, but there wasn’t anything else out of place. Rather typical.

Save for one extra feature - there was another door besides the one they’d come in through, on the opposite side of the room.

”Perfect.” Devine stepped in and took her jacket off right away, hanging it up on a nearby coat rack. Underneath, she only wore a small black tube top that did little to cover her best features. ”Set the bag on the table, if you please.”

The soft rumble of a grumble from Reiko was cut short by Devine whirling about to look her way, flashing back to her moment of good behavior she was having. It was like playing red light green light when she was a kid... almost exactly actually. She gave a silent nod as she hurried along to walk alongside the Brazilian. When they came to a slow stop before the door, the young biker cocked a head at the name printed on it, giving the other woman a small side eyed glance. This was a weird place to have some sort of private dressing room. Before she could even think to inquire, Devine cut through her thought process, leaving her blinking in the doorway.

"My uh... hands? Is this some South America thing?" She was pretty sure that was where Devine was from... right? Reiko stepped into the room, grabbing hold of the edge of the door to swing it from side to side checking just how creaky the hinges were. With a shrug, she pushed it shut, giving it a hard shove with her boot to make sure it went all the way. Looking around the room she spotted the table in question, walking over to it while quietly scanning the room. A quirked eye and a slightly judgemental look in the direction of Devine when she caught sight of the paddle and gag. This room had her name on it after all, even if it looked like a post-it.

Without fuss she tugged the strap of the bag up and over her head, setting it down as gently as possible just in case there as something fragile inside. Her one task done, she was left to awkwardly stand about, waiting for the next order. "When you say a match... you mean a wrestling match or are we... ya'know... burning something down?" The latter definitely more sense in regards to Devine needing her hands. Aside from being a mechanic and a street artist, she knew her way around getting a nice fire blazing even if people didn't appreciate it in there storefronts.

‘South America thing’.

That actually got a full laugh out of Devine, and not even her usual, sultry giggle - no, she laughed hard at it. Reiko was just too precious, really. Though, she had to admit being somewhat impressed that the woman knew which continent she was from, even if she didn’t seem to know the country. Most Japanese people she met just assumed she was Mexican.

”Something like that, cochorra.” She took the ballgag and whip back over to the bag and stuffed them inside - whoever they belonged to, they were hers, now.

Devine began to rifle through the bag, bringing out a few items. First came a large thermos with something sloshing around inside, and a few hair ties came along after it. Before she could pull out the next item, though, Reiko’s question made her spin around with a curious gaze. ”A wrestling match.” She tipped her head to the side with a quick thought. ”Sort of. Kind of. More or less. You’ll see.”

Before Reiko could ask any follow up, Devine spun about to face her with two outfits on hangers - though ‘outfit’ seemed like too grandiose a word for bikinis that could fit in a balled fist.

”Which is hotter? This?” She lifted up the first, a white two-piece, with the top as a strapless bandeau bra that would leave a little cleavage spilling out under the bottom. ”Or this?” The other was a black one-piece slingshot bikini, one that would stick tight to the skin, leaving precious little to the imagination.

She lifted one up, then the other, then the other again, as she pouted and sighed. ”The white one’s nice, I like not having the strap, more practical...but the black isn’t bad, either. Rarely get to wear the slingshot look, think it accentuates my hips…”

Laughs… laughs were good. Reiko gave a soft chuckle of her own along with Devine, just trying to fall in line and pretend she understood what the joke was here. The retrieval of the bag gag and paddle, while strange didn't get any questions from the young biker gal, opting to glance off to the side pretending she hadn't seen those. Had she known that they hadn't always been the Brazilian's though, she would have had some serious sanitary concerns. Stealing them was fine though. Finders keepers.

When Devine unzipped the bag though, Reiko had turned her attention back to that, hovering nearby curiously to get a look at what was within, trying to be single about her peeping. When Devine glanced back, she held up her hands innocently as if caught mid prison break by a tower spotlight. "Kay." Though as the other woman noodles over it and continued talking, it got another very confused brow furrow from Reiko and another, less sure, "Okaaaaay…"

The perky punk took a startled half step back when Devine whipped about with dangling swimsuits in hand, grinning at her like the Cheshire cat. Eyes darting between the both of them in sudden anxiety. Was she expected to out on one of those?! The actual purpose was fast explained, making her settle in her boots though of just deciding which one Devine would be wearing though. "Uhhh…" fashion wasn't really her thing beyond her own look. Both outfits fell well outside of something she would wear, so she scratched her head when forced to choose. Eyes shifting between the two as Devine gave her thoughts and traded each one off.

Just then she had a brilliant idea though… instead of picking which one Reiko would more likely wear, what if she picked the one she thought would look better on the Brazilian. Ha! Man, she was smart! Through narrow slits of her eyes and a furrowed brow, she flexed her imagination muscle, trying her best to dress her up in each garment within her mind. Devine could guess what the young rookie was up to and understand it was working when her face went ruby red and she held up a finger to the two piece set, sheepishly avoiding eye contact.

"That one." She said simply, hoping Devine wasn't like one of her old mathematics teachers and expected her to explain how she came to that conclusion. She wasn't sure there was a way around doing so without embarrassing herself. What kind of wrestling match was this anyhow?

There were probably a lot of ways Devine could’ve handled this decision. Mako would’ve balked at the idea, but Stone would’ve given a good opinion. Any of the other girls, really - Cindy, Rei, Phoebe, Sierra, just to name the ones which came to her off the top of her head. If she was really desperate, she could’ve hit up the AFW’s fan page for info. While the Valkyries weren’t exactly loved, they did have a small fan following, and her oil wrestling match with Eriko had garnered her some personal popularity.

But making Reiko do it was just too precious of an opportunity to miss. The look in her face, the reddening cheeks, the way she nearly burst when she tried to imagine Devine in the outfits, it was all too much. She just wanted to go over there and pinch the punkette’s cheeks. Both sets of them.

”Good choice, good choice.” Devine nodded along with Reiko’s point, treasuring her expert opinion. The two-piece would probably be better for this, give her opponent less to grab, allow more mobility, important with matches like this. The slingshot would see the light of day again, maybe for something slower paced, more intimate.

She stuffed that one away, laid the two-piece across the chair, and propped her boot on the seat, unzipping one, taking it off, then following suit with the other. She started to reach behind her back to undo her top, then looked back Reiko’s way with a sudden jerk, as if she’d forgotten the other woman was still there.

”You might want to turn around.” A slim smile crept along her lips. ”Or don’t. Entirely up to you.”

Devine began to strip from there, and ‘strip’ was the right word for it - thanks to her previous profession, she was skilled in the fine art of removing clothes. While she wasn’t about to break into a full routine, Reiko would nonetheless get a show if she kept watching, as the Brazilian peeled her clothes off in a slow, deliberate fashion, taking care to emphasize her form with every movement.

Reiko stand about awkwardly, happy her choice hadn't been challenged. It would have been difficult to give hard facts past "I think you'd look best in this". While she had no doubt the Brazilian would have been equally as stunning in either, there was something to be said about leaving some things to the imagination. Also the contract of the material against her darker complexion would make it pop a bit more… hm. Maybe she should have given more information, she might have been on to something. Too late now. With a small shrug she waited on Devine for her next direction.

She hadn't put too much thought into watching Devine undressing, somehow not realizing that in order to get into the swimsuit, she had to get out of everything else. She went beat red at Devine's playful warning, snapping into an about face with military precision… though she bit her lip at the open offer laid on the table. "Right. Sorry!"

She was a bit worried to look. Devine had a habit of playing tricks and Stone, while cool as hell was big and scary when she wanted to be. Reiko wasn't sure, but she assumed the two of them were an unofficial item… the last thing she wanted was to make Stone angry at her for creeping on Devine, right?

She gave it a good solid… five seconds maybe before tilting her head slightly enough to watch subtly, trying to pretend that she wasn't. Nothing wrong with this, right? Devine said it was up to her, so she decided to watch. Semi secretly. Trying not to blush harder or drool a bit. Just two cool girls hanging out here. Yup.

Devine pouted when Reiko spun about, a little disappointed she hadn’t opted to stay and stare. Never a shy women, she was used to all eyes being on her, and never wanted a show to be missed, even a small one like this. Reiko was probably the only Valkyrie who hadn’t seen her naked at this point, having not yet attended some of the wilder parties the gang had on occasions. So this would be an initiation of sorts.

The pout went away when she noticed Reiko stealing glances, trying so hard not to look for some reason. She couldn’t imagine why, really - she had to know she didn’t mind. Afraid she might look a little too long, didn’t want to give the wrong idea? Had Reiko even shared a bed with someone else?

Devine tapped her chin as an idea formulated, but she was quick to dismiss it. Much as she might tease, she wouldn’t push the girl into something she wasn’t ready for her. The first time should be special.

”Gotta find someone to call my lover, yeah, baby, come on…” She hummed a little Janet Jackson as she slipped into the bandeau bra, sliding it onto her chest, stretching it out, and letting it snap against her skin. ”Ha, there we go. Okay, cocharra, you can stop pretending to not look at me, now.”

She clapped and pointed to the nearby thermos. ”Here’s the fun part. Open that up, and pour the stuff inside on your hand. It’s coconut oil, don’t worry.” She lifted her arms above her head, putting her body on full display. ”Take it and start rubbing me down. Head to toe. Every inch. Shine me up.”

Sure enough, when Reiko opened the thermos she’d find it filled with a yellowish, viscous fluid, one that was warm - but not too hot - to the touch, the thermos keeping it at a melting temperature. With a knowing smile, Devine stretched out and waited for her to get to work.