One Bird, Two Stones

Jocelyn flopped forward when she hit Dinah. The fact that she flinched and tried to avoid meant that this stone-carved Achilles had a dry heel she wanted to avoid getting pierced. That was all Jocelyn needed. Still, Dinah's laugh confused her as she panted softly from her position on her hands and knees. Her mouth dropped open and she found herself smiling at Dinah, even though the look in her eye seemed to welcome the woman's words. Was she? She wasn't' sure that she was but she definitely couldn't say she was not. Considering her present life, trying to headbutt a stranger in the groin for no other reason than it might get her closer to someone she waffled between wanting to kill and wanting to fuck, the Chistralian was sure it leaned more towards crazy.

Jocelyn let out one final huff and slowly got to her feet. She took shaky steps towards Dinah and held out her hand. ""Right, mate." She said with a grin. "I'll make sure and get ya set up with Sarah faster than two shakes of a roo's tail. Goodonya for the spar. You're one tough fucking bitch." She said in all seriousness.

Dinah laughed again and got to her feet. She made a face and wriggled her hips a little in discomfort and then gave Jocelyn a good natured slap on the arm that knocked her sideways.

"Bloody hell! You're out of your skull!" Dinah grinned. "I've got to give credit where it's due, you may be a little thing but you've got some steel in your spine." She noded approvingly. "Maybe you and I both could make Sarah regret ever messing with us! You might get beat like Arturo Gatti, but eventually she'll wear out or get old and you'll be there to pay her back with interest! Glad I've got you on my side, you bloody pole cat!"

Dinah might've laid it on a little thick because she wanted something from Jocelyn but she meant what she said. She loved to see a young woman with some courage and toughness to her.

Jocelyn staggered and let out a grunt when Dinah slapped her but she remained cheerful. She let out a soft chuckle and looked up at Dinah brightly. Maybe she wasn't as bad as Jocelyn thought? She just needed to figure out how to speak Dinah's language. Who knew it was a headbutt to the groin? And Dinah was calling Jocelyn a nutter?

"Right. We'll make bloody chunder out of that dish licker." She said with a grin. "I'll give you a call in the next day or two. I got to take care of some things.' She then rubbed her chest. "Maybe rest up a bit." She said, flashing Dinah another grin as she slipped out of the ring and made her way towards the locker rooms.

She took a long enough shower to make sure that Dinah wasn't following her with more questions, or waiting for her after she finished. She checked her body too, no bruises. She'd be pissed if she let that oaf bust her up. When all was said and done, she slid back into a nice looking black dress. She then took some time to do her make up. She'd actually gotten pretty good at it now. She wondered if Allison would even notice how well she'd taken to her lessons?

When she was finished, she made her way out of the gym. She pulled out her cell phone as she walked and dialed up Allison. She waited for it to click on and spoke before waiting for a voice. Whether it went to Allison directly, or the machine, she didn't care.

"I'm coming over." She said in a flat tone. "I'm bringing up some wine. I don't think it'll be good enough for you, nothing ever is. I'll be there soon." She clicked the phone off and hailed a cab. She went quickly to get some wine and after that, she was at Allison's apartment once more. This time she buzzed the door to Allison's room. She was tired of the little games with the buzz tag she played before. If Allison wasn't home, she'd ring her and come back later. She'd be home eventually. She'd answer eventually. There was no reason to deny her at the moment though. Jocelyn was feeling good after the scrum with Dinah.

Allison breathed in to say something but never got the chance. Jocelyn hung up in a hurry. Allison smiled.

She had just returned to her apartment after a meeting with a property manager. She was considering expanding her business, but she needed additional space. It would be ideal to open her restaurant near her spa, but the quality of the space was crucial, and she never compromised.

She spent a few minutes rearranging the flowers in a large, stone vase on her heavy, carved dining room table while eating raspberries from a black bowl. Her small but immaculate apartment smelled of roses and chocolate and mahogany, and the light from each hand-wrought lamp played across her decor and mingled with shadow in way that was soothing and dreamlike.

She smoothed a lock of blonde hair back into place behind her ear and placed the last flower in the vase as the door buzzer sounded. Her classic, navy blue, designer dress fluttered behind her thighs as she walked to the door and buzzed Jocelyn in. She had no feelings at all on the encounter she was about to have, and she thought nothing of it. She would endure whatever adolescent tirade the girl had for her, and then amuse herself with her.

She unlatched the door and walked back to the dining room, visible through the living room and to the right of the kitchen, and ate another raspberry. She leaned against her table while she waited, her eyes wandering aimlessly over the books on her shelves.

Jocelyn let out a sigh as the buzzer went off and the door clicked open. She took hold and opened the door up, getting herself inside and stopping. Part of her had been expecting Allison to not be there. Part of her hoped she wasn't. Part of her even hoped for a second that Allison was there and not answering. But she furrowed her brow at the thought. Why would she want that? There were many reasons she found confusing when she dwelt upon them and set them aside.She felt the best sensation knowing Allison had let her in with no strife. She tugged on her dress and began the climb up the stairs.

The closer she got to Allison's apartment, the more her stomach began to knot up. She pushed it aside until she was standing at the door. She lifted her hand to knock but stopped. Her hand went to the door handle and she turned it. Her eyes widened and she found herself opening the door. Was she really just going to walk in?She took in a quick breath. Why not!? The two had shared so much, even Allison had to acknowledge that!

She pushed the door open and stepped inside. She then slid off her shoes and closed it softly behind her. "Sarah!" She called out, just to let the woman know it was her.

She then walked forward, slipping the bottle she had bought behind her. She stepped forward and looked at Sarah when she found her. She lowered her head and smiled. "She is very powerful." Jocelyn said. it was the truth. Jocelyn had never been rattled like that in her life. She then took a step forward. "But, she is nothing. She is nothing at all." Jocelyn said and waved her free hand as if she were mimicking a gentle breeze. She'd impressed Dinah with how absolutely obsessed she was. She still wasn't sure how, but she didn't question it. It was time to try do the same with Allison.

She stepped towards the counter and pulled the bottle from behind her and set it down. Allison had never once thought that Jocelyn was anything. That she was just some gutter rat with illusions of grandeur. Jocelyn knew that Allison wasn't like Dinah, she wasn't brutish and boorish. But, maybe the two did have similarities. It was just a question of knowing what buttons to push, as she had accidentally discovered with Dinah.

"This is for you, Sarah."

She said as she turned the bottle to show it off to her. She'd never spent so much money on wine in her life. She'd never spent so much on alcohol in GENERAL. She was more like her mother when it came to spirits. A dirty beer would do the job as well as any fancy wine. But it didn't mean that she didn't have the knowledge or the means to be high class. She was after all. She just didn't want to show it off like Allison. But now it was time for her to throw Allison's bourgeoisie back in her face. It only cost her a 600$ bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon. And if the woman still wanted to be a bitch about it, well... she still had something she could throw back in the woman's face. Or, at least, break it over her skull.

Allison wore the faintest smile when Jocelyn entered. She was dressed in another of her desperate attempts to win her approval, which Allison found endlessly entertaining. She was convinced that she could have her in a clown suit within a week if it suited her. It certainly suited Jocelyn.

She didn't bother to look down at the bottle of wine right away. She watched Jocelyn's juvenile face. She could never manage to hide any of her childish emotions from anyone, least of all Allison. It was at once revolting and enticing, the very public display of everything Jocelyn, like wrestling in the mud. She didn't show even the slightest hint of a smirk.

When finally she glanced down at the bottle, it was unclear if she'd even noticed it. A glance was enough for her to see what Jocelyn had done. Lacking any taste of her own but possessing an abundance of money, Jocelyn had managed to find an expensive bottle of wine of no particular sort. Certainly, price alone would never appeal to Allison. She loathed the rich, money old and new, who hoarded expensive things with no discernment of their real value.

She briefly made eye contact with Jocelyn, and then strode gracefully to one of the leather upholstered chairs in the living room. She sat down and crossed her legs, and even that movement was immaculate, as mindful as poetry.

"What do you want, Lu Jiao?" She asked in a soft, completely neutral voice.

Jocelyn watched what Allison did. Of course she wanted to grin at the woman. She was quite proud of what she did even if Allison never acknowledged it. She was in a good mood and wasn't going to let Allison's attempts at stoicism bring her down. She watched Allison leave and sit down in a chair.

She smirked and went over to the other one and flopped down in it with as little grace as she could muster, going overboard a bit and then leaning back in her seat to stretch out her legs, not bothering to cross her legs one bit. She pulled her hands behind her head and smiled as she made herself comfortable.

"I came to celebrate with you, Sarah. I came to enjoy your company, wonderful as it is." She said the word with a hint of bitterness. She loved, and hated to be around the woman and felt no need to hide the common knowledge in her tone.

"We have so much to be thankful for once we ruin that ugly brute's world and ship her on out of this place."

"Mm, yes." Allison said. "That does sound wonderful, doesn't it? Dinah is a cancer on this earth, and the sooner she is cut away from it the better."

She leaned on her elbow on the armrest of her chair and tilted her head at Jocelyn. When she spoke again, her tone had changed. It was almost saccharine, patronizing, like someone talking to their dog.

"You're such a good little minion, Jocelyn. A born thug. You've no thoughts of your own at all, have you? You'd want whatever I told you to, and with a very good reason. You're helpless without me.

"How many matches had you won before I came along? Hm? Who knew your name? And what, apart from what I've given you to do, have you done lately? You're a dog, little Lu Jiao, and a good little dog. You're mine to do with as I please, and you wouldn't have it any other way. You've no will of your own, after all, and it's a great, big, scary world out there for someone like you."

Contempt had crept so strongly in her tone that the words felt like an assault even to her ears.

Jocelyn was up and standing almost before Sarah was even finished. "Piss off, cunt!" She screamed and pointed at Sarah. She She scowled at the blonde and began a hateful, venom filled tirade.

'You think that!? That I'm nothing without you?!" Jocelyn growled out. "Tell me what the hell good I've accomplished WITH your help!? Seems like I've been riding even either way you miserable old hag!" She barked.

Jocelyn began to pace back and forth in front of her chair, never taking her eyes off Allison. "You don't want to do this, Sarah. You don't want to FUCKING go there!" She said and threw up her middle finger at the woman. "YOU'RE the one who isn't SHIT! You're the one who has to build up a fucking glass house!" She threw arm up in a spinning motion.

"Fuck you!" She spat out. "Maybe I'm not good enough for you, but I live my life the way I want to..." She clenched her fists and stopped suddenly, her eyes widening. "Ahhh..." She let out softly. "You.. you're fucking bent. I get it. You whacked out dish licker..." Jocelyn bent her legs and stiffened her body. She then threw herself at Allison with a loud growl, her arms snaking out in front of her as she dove for Allison's throat.

Allison was not the least bit impressed by yet another of Jocelyn's tantrums. She remained completely calm, regarding the incensed little girl with an icy expression. It was not until Jocelyn dove on her that she reacted.

She powerfully slapped Jocelyn aside with both hands and tackled her to the floor where she bent an arm around behind her and pressed her body against her to keep her pinned on her side. She pulled Jocelyn's arm up until she was touching her own shoulder blade, and yanked her head back by the hair.

"You had your first taste of success." She hissed in Jocelyn's ear. "You were nothing before me, and all that you are now is because of me. You still cling to your failures, but I have breathed new life into you." She tightened her grip and forced Jocelyn's wrist up higher. "Be very cautious when biting the hand that feeds you. You may discover you are not the one with the teeth."

She gave Jocelyn a rough shove into the floor and got to her feet. She took a moment to straighten her clothes and adjust her hair.

"I can say whatever I like to you, and nothing will ever change. You will still want me and what I am. You will still be just as incapable on your own. I'm not afraid of you, and I could never be. If you think you've cause to be afraid of me, let me reassure you. You've every reason to be afraid of me."

She picked up her phone from the small table next to her chair, that had remained undisturbed in the commotion. She thumbed her way through a couple menus. "When was the last time you spoke with your father?" She asked, her face telling nothing. "With Ambassador Lu Gāng. A long time, yes?"