Post by styg on Sept 23, 2023 1:18:41 GMT
She felt the blow to her left jaw, but before she could react to it another came from the other side, and then a third from the left again. She lifted her head to see where the next was coming from - the lifting was helped, and the seeing hindered, by a knee connecting with the underside of her jaw, and then, while she was still processing that, something heavy slammed against her chest and she fell backwards. As she felt her back connect with cable, something else swiped the side of her face, sending a jolt of whiplash through her neck and shoulders. Her brain shouted at her muscles to push herself off the ropes again, but her pain receptors and lungs yelled back that they needed a moment, and honestly parts of her brain couldn't really argue with that. The other parts threw out a bitter "I told you so" as she looked up, only to see Snow Queen VN flying at her with a Superman punch, too late to do anything about it, that sent her skull lolling around like a bobblehead.
Despite being a rookie to wrestling, Snow was actually older than Leanne, with a lot of martial arts experience. But her form, as she darted away to run the opposite ropes, betrayed her lack of experience in her new discipline. She was quick, aggressive, but wide open. Leanne knew Kam and Mark must have trained her better than that, but she was still getting used to checking those kinds of things in the heat of the fight, clearly. Natural instinct almost did the job for Leanne, her brain pushing all the werewithal she'd managed to gather in the last few seconds into her left arm, as she ducked down and caught Snow as she closed in with a back body drop to lift her right over the ropes.
She didn't see the injury - she only gave Snow the briefest glance to make certain she'd actually cleared the ropes and hadn't landed on the apron, and as soon as she clocked the other wrestler airborne with her arms wheeling, a safe metre or so out, she turned her attention back to the ring to check that Troy, Lyra or Revvy weren't already rushing in for a sneak attack.
She heard it though. It was actually only the faintest crunch of gristle on the very edge of her peripheral hearing, but it would become magnified in her memory over the following days. The scream, though. That was unmistakeable. As Snow cried out in agony, her voice was as clear in Leanne's ears as if she was standing right behind her. All of Leanne's training and instincts as a fighter went out the window as her empathy took over, and she turned around to look for Snow. The woman was sitting on the floor at ringside, panting heavily, her skin already pale. Her foot lay at the... wrong angle.
She didn't have much time to process it properly, though, as suddenly she was ripped away from the ropes and spun around. A boot smashed into her jaw - and her nose. And her collarbone. And her manubrium. The fact a single impact had such a wide, well, footprint was enough to tell her it was Troy. A moment later the world inverted through itself as she was quickly hoisted into the air, but her brain managed to recentre itself just a second later, and she put two and two together. Troy? And being over his shoulders? Sure enough, she found herself flung backwards for Welcome To Your Nightmare, and again instinct meant her body was already reacting before her consciousness was totally aware of what the plan was. She wrapped herself around him from behind and let her own momentum drag him down with her, then forced herself to wheel him backwards - wincing as his body weight, roughly a hundred pounds more than hers, crunched over her like a road roller - and into a jackknife. Troy broke it easily, throwing himself to one side and throwing Leanne clean off his person in the process, but it was the moment she needed to properly regroup and get back into the fight.
Except, the moment she did that, her brain was filled with a cartoonish exaggeration of Snow Queen VN landing on one ankle and it totally snapping under her, almost in half. She hurriedly blinked it away, and as her eyes opened again Troy filled her vision.
Leanne's muscles ached, the sweat cooling on her skin was starting to make her shiver, and her head felt like it had been run over with a bus. But she still pushed on down the corridor, occasionally touching the wall for a moment of guidance, until she arrived at the medical office. She rapped her knuckles on the door cautiously as she pushed it open, not so much to request passage as to announce her presence. The one she was here to see lay on a bed, with a doctor fussing over her leg. Leanne didn't recognise him. He must've been one of the venue's staff. Both he and his patient glanced up as Leanne stepped into the room - neither seemed thrilled to be interrupted, but they didn't shoo her away.
Still, she asked "Can I come in?" as a courtesy.
"Just don't touch anything," grunted the doctor. The woman said nothing, merely shrugged a little. Leanne was aware that her real name was Tuyết, but Kam and Mark and all of the Wildfire squad seemed to call her Snow offscreen as well as on. Another doctor sat at a computer in the corner, but the bay was otherwise empty, with GEW's own head doctor nowhere to be seen.
"Hi, Snow. Um. Is Dr Cortez..."
The medic grimaced. "Dr Cortez is waiting with a couple of my team to see if she's needed after the death match." The way the doctor said the word - or words, audibly splitting it in two - made it clear he didn't think much of wrestling which not only allowed but actively encouraged weapons. Leanne happened to agree, but wasn't interested in discussing that right now. "If you need her for something she should be back after that ends."
Leanne stammered as she approached the bed, looking her accidental victim up and down. "No, no, I just came to see... um... h-how is it?"
Snow sighed. "Hurts."
"I'm... so, so sorry."
"Shit happens," mumbled Snow, trying her best to turn to face the other way while the doctor had her leg pinned. "Just a freak accident."
"I guess..." murmured Leanne, frowning in worry, "I just..."
Snow cut her off with a word, but couldn't add any more to it right away. "It's..."
She closed her eyes and swallowed down the pang of defensive anger she felt on instinct at every word Evangelista spoke. Her head knew this was her own fault for overextending as she charged. Of course Evangelista had back body dropped her over the ropes; why wouldn't you? She liked to believe that would be what she would do too. But upon seeing Leanne's face entering the room, her gut had clenched in rage, laced with paranoia. She was ashamed, but it was there. She was literally the last person in the world she wanted to see right now, and naturally she was the exact person who'd come. But it was unfair, and she did her best to suppress the annoyance. Evangelista was just showing concern. Again, Snow knew - or hoped - she'd do the same thing.
But by god were the words hard to get out.
"...it's fine. Like I said, it was a freak accident. Could've happened to anyone."
Leanne nodded. "Well, just... let me know if I can do amything, right?"
With another sigh, Snow replied, "Thank you, that's very kind of you. I think I just want to be alone and get some rest, though."
"Oh... okay," said Leanne, nodding again, uncertainly. She cast a glance back as she turned away, but the doctor pointedly moved between her and Snow. Leanne took the hint and left, once again pushing against the wall for strength - this time less to quell the ache in her bones and more to subdue the ice in her stomach.
Despite being a rookie to wrestling, Snow was actually older than Leanne, with a lot of martial arts experience. But her form, as she darted away to run the opposite ropes, betrayed her lack of experience in her new discipline. She was quick, aggressive, but wide open. Leanne knew Kam and Mark must have trained her better than that, but she was still getting used to checking those kinds of things in the heat of the fight, clearly. Natural instinct almost did the job for Leanne, her brain pushing all the werewithal she'd managed to gather in the last few seconds into her left arm, as she ducked down and caught Snow as she closed in with a back body drop to lift her right over the ropes.
She didn't see the injury - she only gave Snow the briefest glance to make certain she'd actually cleared the ropes and hadn't landed on the apron, and as soon as she clocked the other wrestler airborne with her arms wheeling, a safe metre or so out, she turned her attention back to the ring to check that Troy, Lyra or Revvy weren't already rushing in for a sneak attack.
She heard it though. It was actually only the faintest crunch of gristle on the very edge of her peripheral hearing, but it would become magnified in her memory over the following days. The scream, though. That was unmistakeable. As Snow cried out in agony, her voice was as clear in Leanne's ears as if she was standing right behind her. All of Leanne's training and instincts as a fighter went out the window as her empathy took over, and she turned around to look for Snow. The woman was sitting on the floor at ringside, panting heavily, her skin already pale. Her foot lay at the... wrong angle.
She didn't have much time to process it properly, though, as suddenly she was ripped away from the ropes and spun around. A boot smashed into her jaw - and her nose. And her collarbone. And her manubrium. The fact a single impact had such a wide, well, footprint was enough to tell her it was Troy. A moment later the world inverted through itself as she was quickly hoisted into the air, but her brain managed to recentre itself just a second later, and she put two and two together. Troy? And being over his shoulders? Sure enough, she found herself flung backwards for Welcome To Your Nightmare, and again instinct meant her body was already reacting before her consciousness was totally aware of what the plan was. She wrapped herself around him from behind and let her own momentum drag him down with her, then forced herself to wheel him backwards - wincing as his body weight, roughly a hundred pounds more than hers, crunched over her like a road roller - and into a jackknife. Troy broke it easily, throwing himself to one side and throwing Leanne clean off his person in the process, but it was the moment she needed to properly regroup and get back into the fight.
Except, the moment she did that, her brain was filled with a cartoonish exaggeration of Snow Queen VN landing on one ankle and it totally snapping under her, almost in half. She hurriedly blinked it away, and as her eyes opened again Troy filled her vision.
---------------------------------
Leanne's muscles ached, the sweat cooling on her skin was starting to make her shiver, and her head felt like it had been run over with a bus. But she still pushed on down the corridor, occasionally touching the wall for a moment of guidance, until she arrived at the medical office. She rapped her knuckles on the door cautiously as she pushed it open, not so much to request passage as to announce her presence. The one she was here to see lay on a bed, with a doctor fussing over her leg. Leanne didn't recognise him. He must've been one of the venue's staff. Both he and his patient glanced up as Leanne stepped into the room - neither seemed thrilled to be interrupted, but they didn't shoo her away.
Still, she asked "Can I come in?" as a courtesy.
"Just don't touch anything," grunted the doctor. The woman said nothing, merely shrugged a little. Leanne was aware that her real name was Tuyết, but Kam and Mark and all of the Wildfire squad seemed to call her Snow offscreen as well as on. Another doctor sat at a computer in the corner, but the bay was otherwise empty, with GEW's own head doctor nowhere to be seen.
"Hi, Snow. Um. Is Dr Cortez..."
The medic grimaced. "Dr Cortez is waiting with a couple of my team to see if she's needed after the death match." The way the doctor said the word - or words, audibly splitting it in two - made it clear he didn't think much of wrestling which not only allowed but actively encouraged weapons. Leanne happened to agree, but wasn't interested in discussing that right now. "If you need her for something she should be back after that ends."
Leanne stammered as she approached the bed, looking her accidental victim up and down. "No, no, I just came to see... um... h-how is it?"
Snow sighed. "Hurts."
"I'm... so, so sorry."
"Shit happens," mumbled Snow, trying her best to turn to face the other way while the doctor had her leg pinned. "Just a freak accident."
"I guess..." murmured Leanne, frowning in worry, "I just..."
Snow cut her off with a word, but couldn't add any more to it right away. "It's..."
She closed her eyes and swallowed down the pang of defensive anger she felt on instinct at every word Evangelista spoke. Her head knew this was her own fault for overextending as she charged. Of course Evangelista had back body dropped her over the ropes; why wouldn't you? She liked to believe that would be what she would do too. But upon seeing Leanne's face entering the room, her gut had clenched in rage, laced with paranoia. She was ashamed, but it was there. She was literally the last person in the world she wanted to see right now, and naturally she was the exact person who'd come. But it was unfair, and she did her best to suppress the annoyance. Evangelista was just showing concern. Again, Snow knew - or hoped - she'd do the same thing.
But by god were the words hard to get out.
"...it's fine. Like I said, it was a freak accident. Could've happened to anyone."
Leanne nodded. "Well, just... let me know if I can do amything, right?"
With another sigh, Snow replied, "Thank you, that's very kind of you. I think I just want to be alone and get some rest, though."
"Oh... okay," said Leanne, nodding again, uncertainly. She cast a glance back as she turned away, but the doctor pointedly moved between her and Snow. Leanne took the hint and left, once again pushing against the wall for strength - this time less to quell the ache in her bones and more to subdue the ice in her stomach.