Post by Lycana on Oct 27, 2021 19:30:17 GMT -5
A strange, dark red glow emanates from down a side hallway, fading out to nothing, leaving the deck quiet and dim once more.
Two lithe figures emerge from the hallway, creeping on tiptoes towards the banister than runs the length of the upper deck. Hushed tones float over the empty area as the duo peek over the edge, looking curiously around.
“Why are we sneaking on board an empty cruise ship again?” the crimson haired woman questions, glancing over at her companion who arches an eyebrow. “You invited yourself Arcana... And I just wanted to take a look around before the event.” the sapphire tressed vixen snorts back at her. “Get an idea of the layout and such.”
“You have trust issues, you know that?”
“Why did you come again?”
“I wanted to see what buffets were on board.”
“Ever hear of Google?... Wait, you’re coming on the cruise?”
“Bought myself a ticket.”
“Joy.”
“It’s for charity, Lycana.” Arcana grumbles. Lycana makes a noncommittal noise of agreement as she walks along, trailing her hand along the cool steel border as she goes, her eyes flicking over all the things the ship had to offer. “Why didn’t you just ask Tara if you could do this?”
Lycana spins on her heel, walking backwards as she replies. “I didn’t want to put her on the spot. You know I don’t like asking for favors.” Arcana gapes at her in disbelief as she twists around again, presenting her back to her friend. “Coulda fooled me.” she mutters under her breath, trotting to catch up with the Dark Vixen of Violence as she makes her way swiftly down a flight of stairs. “Where do you think the ring is going to be?”
“I’d imagine on one of the bigger decks. Unless they somehow rig it over this, that would be fun.” Lycana pauses, pointing to the giant water slide with a saucy grin. “Hey, XWF put a cage on top of a rollercoaster for you to climb out of and down. Anything is possible. Especially if Tara didn’t get Vinnie to lend her his supernatural blockers that he uses for our shows.”
“I don’t think we will be finding that out.”
“Not gonna change and liven things up?”
“Can you picture what would happen if wolf was running around?” Lycana side eyes her, as she looks off into the distance likely imagining that very scenario. Ly was doing the same, and in her mind, the scene was right out of the damn Titanic movie, with people screaming and diving overboard. Others getting trampled. Food and beverages flying everywhere. Vhodka might hurt someone herself if she saw the queso she had wanted being wasted. Add on top of that Tara would not only probably kill her... it would ruin her birthday AND her charity cruise and Lycana wasn’t about to have that on her record. Blue Squad forever and all that. “A terrible idea. Besides, we don’t know if it's possible.”
“Let's find out.” the mischievous tone in Arcana’s voice causes Lycana’s head to swing around. “Wha...”
“..........AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHT!!!!!”
The word ends in a screech as Lycana finds herself hurtling down the giant slide. She grabs wildly at the edges, but to no avail. She streaks along, aided by the slick material of her pants, no amount of clawing slowing her headlong rush down as she hits a spiral. She whips around the curves, her shriek dwindling, only to hit a fever pitch as she flies into a straight away, then there is nothing under her and she is flying. She holds weightless for the briefest moment, enough time to think about how she was going to kill Arcana.
And then she slams into the cold water with a splash.
With a few violent kicks, she surges to the surface, breaking it with a gasp as she treads water for a moment, gaining her bearings. Peals of laughter break through as she levels a glare in the crimson haired witch's direction.
“It works!”
A snarl emerges from her throat as she swims towards the stairs at the other end of the pool, hitting them and hauling herself up, her waterlogged clothing bogging her down. “I’m going to kill you...” Lycana growls as she sloshes towards Arcana, water cascading off of her.
“Worth it!”
Arcana holds steady, cocky grin on her face as she is stalked. Her hands go out, ready to ignite for a fight with the cerulean haired lycan when a bright light hits them both, and deep tones call across the pool. “Hey! What are you two doing in here?” The two girls turn to observe the portly security guard, lumbering towards them, unibrow hovering low over piggish eyes. Amber meets steel gray as they slant their gazes at one another in silent communication before Lycana turns what she hopes is a charming smile in the man's direction.
“We are here to inspect uhh... the cheese, for Tara.” she lies.
“The cheese.” he looks her up and down, from the water squishing out of her shoes, to the dripping hair and running makeup, and his giant brow furrows at her bedraggled state. “I uhh, I fell in.” she offers an excuse up. He grunts, clearly still not buying the story. “Look, we just wanted to make sure there were ample supplies on board. I have it on good authority that there will be hell to pay if there isn't enough to last the full time of the cruise. Do you really want to be held responsible for that?” Looking concerned for a moment, the guard pulls out his phone, jabbing at the screen with a stubby finger, the thunderclouds returning as he reads something. “Says here, the nacho cheese isn't supposed to come on board for a couple days...”
“I told you it wasn’t until Thursday!”
“Oh, silly me, I must be all mixed up.” Lycana forces a laugh as propels Arcana forward towards another part of the boat. “I swear Tara said it was today, but she’s so busy preparing for everything... I’m sure you know how it is right? I’m sure your job is... strenuous.” She shoves her frenemy down a hall, tossing one last winning, cheesy grin at the guard who is now talking in low tones on a walkie talkie. “Well, have a great day!” She scoots off down the hall as he lumbers towards her with all the speed of a gazelle that had been run over two weeks prior. He reaches the entrance to the hallway huffing for air. “Hey!”
But its empty.
________________________________________________________
“Ciela, Ciela, Ciela...
Look at us, stealing the thunder on night one... I don’t know about you, but I certainly didn’t expect to be chosen to main event. But we were, and here we are prepping to make it one that no one is liable to forget and to show that it was not a mistake to place us in that esteemed position. Despite what a certain someone has had to say about it. Ahem... Cent. This is so much more than what he thinks it is. We were put together for a few reasons, beyond the obvious he cannot see around.
Blue versus green.
Wolf versus time traveler.
XWF versus OCW.
Or... that’s what it was supposed to be.
That was supposed to be the big one Cent, not the damn hair color. If you recall there was a little bit of a war going on. Y’know, invasions and beatdowns and the like happening on both sides. Unfortunately, it seems that fate has intervened and put a stop to that excitement. Instead of going out with an explosion, the federation invasion ended with a bit of a pop and a fizzle.
But that doesn’t mean this match has to.
You and I can still shake the whole boat up, blow the metaphoric roof right off the damn thing. I fully intend to, so I hope that you are ready. There's a lot at stake here, and all for a good cause. Tara has put together quite an event, and I couldn’t resist signing up when word of it reached my ears. I would be lying if I said that it being for charity was the only reason I was drawn in, just as I’m sure many others have their own reasonings for coming aboard. Personally, the opportunity to test out my skills on another battlefield, against new blood, and on a different stage?
Irresistible.
You spent a little bit of time in the XWF, but we never had a chance to cross paths. You came around for a tag match over the summer, followed by your little tiff with one Thaddeus Duke leading into your challenge for the Hart title which you failed to obtain.
After that, you skidaddled off to a bunch of other feds, I guess testing the waters to see where you might do better.
Some you have seemed to hit your stride in, and others... well. I did my research Ciela. Some of them you just can’t even be bothered to show up for. I certainly hope you don’t do the same here. I want you to be on that ship, ready to fight, ready to bring me the challenge I live for.
If you have looked into me, you will know what I’m all about.
I hope you have.
And if you didn’t... allow me.
I am known as the Dark Vixen of Violence for a reason. I am willing to do whatever it takes in that ring. I am willing to risk it all. Willing to risk you, me... it doesn’t matter. Knowing that I'm probably going to get hurt? Nah, that’s not going to stop me if it means raining a whole world of excruciating pain down on you too. A Metamorphosis off of the platform of a rollercoaster onto the pavement below? Yep, I did that. Flinging myself and an opponent off the top of a cage onto a car? Yup. That too. Douse someone in gasoline and light them on fire with a blowtorch? You bet. I don’t care what it is, I will do it. I hope you will embrace that my darling, because if any chances open up to do something to you... I’m going to seize it with both hands.
I’m a former X-treme champion, and those types of matches were right up my alley. It’s a bit of a shame that we don’t have any special stipulations for this match but I guess it might get a little crazy being on a cruise ship anyway, huh? I can picture someone getting tossed into the pool, through the concessions, down the shuffleboard court... hell, even overboard has crossed my mind. Doesn’t that sound like fun to you?
I’ve been doing this for under a year, and while I can’t claim to have a bloodline in the sport like you, I can guarantee that I am probably one of the most tenacious people you will ever meet. As a matter of fact, it seems to be the most bitched about thing that everyone likes to bring up when they face me, especially when it's not the first time. And it’s the reason I’m going to be well known in the business by the time I’m finally done. Lycana doesn’t give up. Lycana doesn’t know when to stop. And right from one of Them No Good Bastard’s mouth, Lycana doesn’t have an ounce of quit in her.
And it's true.
I don’t.
I am not the type to back down from a challenge either, no matter how big... or small... it may be. If someone wants to face me in the ring, I make it happen.
Though you should probably ask Chris Page how that worked out. He’s gonna be on the boat too, I’m sure he would love to sit down and give you a nice, long winded monologue about himself and his career, and how he was never pinned in a match for about ten months... until all that came to a screeching halt at the hands of Lycana and a deadly inside cradle. Yeah, that’s right... the legend himself taken down by someone he looked down on as a nobody. Must have smarted quite a bit.
And then there was Alias.
You know, the highest ranked in the top ten World Champions list by Denzel?
Guess who is his only loss to date since last November?
Hi Ciela.
That would be me, in case I didn’t get my point across.
Alias who wanted a little bit of revenge against me for the crimes of the Left Hand, but it didn’t really work out in his favor.
Quite the little feather in my cap wouldn’t you say? But that wasn’t enough for me. No, we bloodied each other, took chunks of flesh and all... and I mean I lit the man on fire and left him to burn as I escaped the cages to win and take his X-treme title. But it wasn’t enough. No Ciela, because I want to do it again. And this past Wednesday night Warfare, call me crazy, but I made a bit of a challenge to the man, letting him know I now had my eyes set on his Universal belt. Bigger prize, bigger motivation, bigger fight.
The point is, my ambitions are set high my dear, and you have a lot to live up to if you want to even come close to what those two men put me through. To be quite frank, I don’t think you can. I don’t think you are going to be as much of a challenge as they were...
But I hope I am wrong.
It seems to me Ciela, when you are on... you are on and you can be quite the little termagant in that ring, but when you're off?
Well... I wouldn’t want to see what happens to you if you aren't.
Because I am coming into this match looking at you as an appetizer. Just a little snack to stave off the hunger. You see Ciela, you are walking into this match with a predator, one the likes you have never encountered before. You probably have faced bigger. You probably have faced more experienced. Hell, you might have faced badder... but you have never faced more ferocious and I intend to prove that to you. Being from the future Ciela, should have given you warning that not walking away from this match was a very, very stupid idea on your part. The writing is on the wall, and one of us is going down... and it is going to be you.
You see, instead of chasing fed after fed, I keep my focus on what I want, and keep working towards it. I only just joined Fight to see what Betsy was raving about for myself. You? You seem to play hard and fast with the feds, signing to the roster and being booked... then crickets start to chirp. Maybe you are stretching yourself too thin, if you can’t keep up with all your obligations. There was this little battle royal recently in one fed in particular... and well, you didn’t even make it out of the back.
That doesn’t say much, now does it my girl?
I can sit here and spew out all the generic threats I want to, but the fact of the matter is this... I’m coming in to win this thing, if not for the XWF anymore, for myself. To take one step closer to grabbing the crown jewel of my fed and something I’ve been looking for, for a long time. You are just one obstacle that stands between me, and what I see on the horizon, and you will be dealt with, without a single ounce of compassion. You are something to be eliminated, and that’s all.
All I can say is good luck Ciela... you are going to need it.
I’m the uncontainable.
I’m the Dark Vixen of Violence.
I’m Lycana.
And I’m going to be the one who puts you down.”
________________________________________________________
The morning of the cruise dawned resplendently, the sun rising over the water in vibrant hues of pinks and orange, even a touch of purple mixed in. The wind whips long, cerulean tendrils around, giving the impression of Medusa and her snakes before backing off, letting it fall complacently onto her shoulders once more. She tucks her legs under her, taking a small sip from her travel mug of tea as she watches the hustle and bustle of the dock from the relative quiet of a small bench.
People were scurrying everywhere, darting to and fro on pretty much every available surface it seemed. She wasn’t much for crowds, hence her failed attempt to explore the boat days before. It was funny, for someone who performed professionally in front of them, Lycana broke out in a sweat when it came to being packed in like a sardine. She hadn't even really enjoyed Disneyland, though that was at least out in the open with avenues of escape. Here, she would spend a lot of time in her room.
A figure approaching catches her eye, hair cascading down like molten gold, megawatt smile on her face. She lowers her cup, an answering grin of her own for her fellow Impossible Entity, Betsy Granger. “Hey, you coming aboard or not?”
Lycana rises to her feet gracefully with a nod. “I was getting there.” The two embrace in a friendly hug. “C’mon girl, mimosas on the balcony?”
“Now you’re speaking my language!”
They walk down the dock to the gangplank, where a portly, familiar face waits at the top, making Lycana’s eyes widen. He spies her and waves as she cringes.
“The cheese came on time just fine.”
“Great! Good to hear!” Lycana nods with a massive smile, picking up the pace, practically running through the door as Betsy looks at her curiously. “Cheese?”
“Long story.”
