Breach Of The Peace

Fwush.

Despite the recent hot streak she'd been on, the Dancing Passion was not feeling particularly good about herself, which seems like a weird issue to have if one looked at her win/loss record since coming back into the fray. With the rampant success she has had, Eliza was now, for better or worse, inextricably a part of the title race in Tension, and that meant she was tied up in all that it entailed - even if that meant the kind of things she would rather distance herself from. Good for her future, the Darling of Tension had sought the opportunity to go for the gold once more after missing out on the Tag Team Championship titles. But something just had to get in the way again. And it had nothing to do with others, but mostly herself. Something wrong was stirring up inside, giving her cause to worry, stirring up negative emotions inside. It was completely new, something the British Aristocrat told herself she wouldn't turn into. Especially after seeing how Ryan Knight turned into. Worse, there'd been that incident after one of her matches, which reached a boiling point against Moon Sin-Jae.  That'd started as a minor annoyance - despite being somebody new to test herself against - and then, when Sin kept prodding the former dancer to a breaking point, the flame exploded into a tempest of fire. Eliza had uncharacteristically tortured the sadistic Taewkondonista, seeking to dole out all of her frustrations onto the Korean even after she fell into unconsiousness. At the time, when she stood tall, Eliza justified it as Sin getting her just desserts. As they say, play with fire, you'll get burned.

Tshhh!

She wasn't depressed - Eliza remained strong in spirit still, and it was going to take more than this to get her down - but there was something very discouraging about all of this. The more she dwelled on it, the more discouraged she became, and the more that happened, the more she obsessed.  And so she'd headed to a quiet spot at the beach late into the evening with the sun setting down, determined to drill this rotting, lingering malaise out of her mind with a kata that someone showed her.

Fwsssh.

Getting into something like Chatanyara Kushanku seemed to be too much, but it was one of the forms that her teacher showed many years ago, and she wanted to get it down right. If she had gone over it enough, it could've been done entirely by muscle memory if she'd allowed it, but the Dancing Passion preferred to focus on every individual strike. No point in practicing if you let yourself get sloppy, if you let your mind fall out of the fight (well, the 'fight' in this case).  It was good to be reflexive on her strikes; they had to be thrown deliberately with that said with intent. Besides, keeping her mind laser-focused on every part helped take her focus away from the past few months.

Fffup.

Her leg snapped into the air, the fabric of her trousers rustling in the wind, giving it that snapping sound that was crisp before getting back into a double block. The speed one puts into their arms is like a double-edged sword -  in that it shows incredible speed but to stop that speed, the ligaments and tendons are suffered to sudden pull. Furthermore, the use of such speed results in arm dislocation and tendon tears. With that, Eliza took it easy, making sure she got the technique right before putting on the bells and whistles. Her teacher wouldn't be so pleased if she couldn't get into training the next day.

Huuup!

The Dancing Passion lowered herself before she'd rise out of the block and into the punch. Every time she breathed in, the Dancing Passion had to concentrate on the motion, on the calculated push from her diaphragm, to make sure she pulled in enough.  It kept her focus razor-sharp and ensured every attack she threw at her 'opponent' was as deliberate as the previous one had been.

"Haaaiii!"

There goes another kick before it would return to its holster, so to speak, and Eliza drew a measured breath. Her feet dug into the sand, closing her eyes as she took her time. She'd get through this. She'd gotten through everything else AFW has thrown at her. This is no different.

For obvious reasons, Eliza would be a little jumpy about being approached from behind.

Thankfully, the movements of the kata allowed the Dancing Passion to take in her surroundings. So it was right at the tail end of kick #17 where the instant her leg extended with a snapping sound, she could afford a split second to take her attention away, that she spotted someone wandering towards her. Well, no.  Not wandering, approaching with intent.  What was more, he was approaching with intention and making it obvious, cracking his knuckles. It was as if he didn’t mind creating a complete ruckus. She wondered if this was perhaps a test for all that she learned before. Life has a way of throwing them out to test if one remains upright and rigid in her teachings.

And it just so happened that it brought quite the test, indeed.


As Jacob drew near, Eliza committed a cardinal sin and took her focus off the next kick, letting it sort of play out automatically in favour of getting an actual look of the person from the corner of her gaze. A familiar face, though she at first didn’t quite figure out who it was. But as soon as he spoke in the tone that he knew the Dancing Passion, she finally could put a name to a face.

Eliza didn’t show it, but her serene mood dropped to one of annoyance. Jacob has since demonstrated poor manners and kept provoking the Darling of Tension, all for a petty reason of not liking her training methods. Jacob was lucky he only got a kick out of her, delivering karma that would hopefully instil some manners into him. It turns out that is far from the case, looking to pick off from where they had left off months ago.

It was just the sort of thing Eliza didn’t need right now.

But the Dancing Passion had to sort out this issue one day. Just as Jacob had gotten close, kick #20 came barreling towards him, aiming directly towards his smug face…only that it stopped a few inches away. “If you come to cause trouble, then you shall have none of it.” Eliza isn’t one to attack without being provoked; she remained as diplomatic as she could with the man. But with the speed and alacrity of that kick shooting towards him, even if he was ready, she showed that she could drop him at a moment’s notice. With that message sent and received as clear as day, Eliza dropped her leg down to the sand. It is wise to tread carefully from here on out. “Unless you come for something else, please leave me be.”

It wasn’t just the fact that Jacob hadn’t learnt his lesson and came back with intentions of revenge; it was the fact that he came with his friends just to act as backup. That had left a bitter taste in her mouth. It spoke volumes about his character, the type of person he was, and disgusted the Dancing Passion. At least with the snobby aristocrats back in England, they would have some sense of pride to handle their own battles. But with this person, he just had to come with his posse. As he would so proclaim, a…‘real wrestler’ couldn’t handle a mere dancer without any backup. Shameful.

Eliza simply gave a warning shot, having the self-control to not knock him out again. It still showed some diplomacy yet reminding Jacob that the same thing will happen if he continues with his petty antics and not come into it with a level head. Eliza was far from the timid woman when she started in Tension. Experience with men like him made her more bold and ready to defend herself if provoked. Of course, she wasn’t expecting Jacob to be off-kilter and stumble back into a fall. Had his mates not been there, he would have landed on his arse. And the British Aristocrat didn’t have to hit him this time to send him down.

Eliza remained calm as her foot returned to the sand. Or at least as best as she could be at the face of Jacob. The Perfect Storm was further enraged by being made foolish and straightened up, although he was smart enough to stay at a distance. Eliza gave a tug of the ends of her belt; Jacob prattling on about ‘repaying some debt’, which is aggravating. However, rather than focusing on the circling storm, Eliza noted the other two that were there with him. From the looks of their collective demeanour, they weren’t entirely on the same page with Jacob, as if they were dragged along in Jacob’s solo crusade. It was a slight glance that Eliza threw, but one that gathered a lot of information.

“You come with that intention…” The Dancing Passion would say as her gaze would transfer to Jacob. “…But do your friends share the same sentiment?"

Whilst Eliza is not a total stranger to handicap matches, she would prefer to keep away from such situations if she could help it. The blonde does not seek to find herself in cases like this, but if need be, her self defence lessons from when she was young gave her skills to deal with it. It pays to be ready, but Eliza hopes never to use it.

Soon as Jacob came with the rest of his Dominion mates, Eliza initially thought the worst. One that simply couldn’t let go of this petty grudge because he couldn’t behave properly suddenly needed more people to get back at her. Which was shameful to think of. Loathe as she would admit it, Ryan would never have to resort to bringing numbers to overwhelm someone even in his current state. Someone who has committed terrible acts still has more honor than Jacob does.

But that all changed as soon as she took a glance at the two men beside Jacob. Whilst he spouts on, confident that he has back-up, the Dancing Passion saw that they weren’t on the same page. Jacob was blind in anger after being made a fool for the second time in a row, and it took the actual leader Trent to step into the situation. Trent intervening was confirmation that Eliza needs to believe there can be a way to solve this without the unnecessary brouhaha. The Darling of Tension’s body relaxed some. Yet keeping wary of the fact that this could also be a trap. Who knows at this point?

“I would very much prefer that,” Eliza responded, noticing the calm nature of Trent. Another country fellow. Good to see that there are still people that can act with decorum. “So long as this man proves he can act calmly. Otherwise, this will all be for naught.”

Eliza breathed deep. She felt most of her tense form began to be calm as the group leader approaches her. While she doesn’t want to lose focus on the hot-headed Jacob, Trent will be the one the Dancing Passion will talk to. Derek, in the meanwhile, stood back, away from the action. It is hard not to be too distrusting towards someone gracious to extend the olive branch. But it’s not as if Eiza wasn’t given a reason not to be.

Once Jacob begrudgingly stood down, for now, Eliza began to speak. “Thank you. Now then, I have been at the gym doing my usual regime when this man….” The Darling of Tension glances at Jacob before turning her gaze back towards Trent. “...decided to interrupt with the beliefs that I wasn’t training. I have told him that I have used the gym for my personalised sessions many years, even before you three have entered Tension, and no one has said they had any issue with what I do.”

“Those facts didn’t stop him from threatening me to kick me out, as if he had any authority to do so. I told him that I do not take threats kindly, and when he continued not to leave me alone, I dealt with him.” The Darling of Tension turned her head towards Jacob, with his arms crossed under his chest. “And from what I could see, this man simply cannot leave his pride aside to realise he was in the wrong.” Eliza caught herself before she'd get carried away with her rant. Giving a cough before turning towards the group leader. "I'm sorry, do forgive me. But I haven't caught your name. Pardon my manners, you are?"