Post by littlemissvex on Nov 23, 2023 5:18:19 GMT
Lying flat on the floor of the hotel room, Alfie Pearson sighed heavily as he raised his arm to check his watch for the umpteenth time in ten minutes. “Come on Ciara! We were supposed to be at the arcade twenty minutes ago!”
“Would you keep your feckin’ knickers on, ya eejit! I told you I was in the middle of something!” The irritated Irish lilt of Ciara Ryan was powerful even through the closed bathroom door, and it was enough to make Alfie snap his mouth closed and keep quiet for fear of getting on the wrong side of her temper. Again.
Finally he heard the door open, and he sat up and stretched his back out with a groan. She emerged from the bathroom, a plume of steam billowing out behind her. She rubbed her head with one of the hotel towels, and as it dropped away Alfie let out a gasp. “Ci! Your hair!”
Indeed, the long blonde locks were no more. Now, they were coloured a rich chestnut hue, with a slight sheen of red. She raised an eyebrow at him. “You’ve never heard of hair dye before?”
His mouth gaped open and closed like a fish as he tried to formulate an answer that wouldn’t result in a vicious punch to the arm. “It’s just so…different.”
“Yeah, I felt like I needed a change, yunno?” She walked over to the mirrored closet doors and ruffled her hands through the still-damp tresses, a rare genuine smile appearing on her face. “Looks pretty damn good on me, if I do say so myself. Gonna go get it all cut and styled and whatnot this week. Figured if I’m about to become the new face of this brand, better make it a good one. Unlike some people, I don’t need to hide behind a mask.” She snickered.
“Yeah,” Alfie said, still with his eyes glued to the dyed hair on his cousin’s head.
Ciara’s eyes narrowed towards Alfie in the mirror, and she turned back around to face him. “Out with it. What’s wrong?”
Alfie shook his head vehemently. “Nothing! I’m just still getting used to it, that’s all!”
“Seems like what you should be getting used to is that walking boot,” she said, pointedly staring down at the grey plastic boot that still encased Alfie’s right foot. “I thought you were supposed to be out of that thing?”
The young Brit chuckled nervously, rubbing at the back of his neck. “I was, but then my new friends took me out to this karaoke bar one night. I’ll just say this - Japanese whisky is not for the lightweights.”
Ciara let out a sigh, closing her eyes and letting her head drop backwards on her neck. “Lord Jesus, give me patience ‘cause if you give me strength I’ll beat this boy.” She opened her eyes and lowered her head to look back at Alfie. “How the feck are you supposed to be out there with me at ringside if you’re hobblin’ along like a three-legged dog?”
He gaped at her for a moment, a hopeful smile appearing on his face. “Wait, you want me out at ringside with you?”
“Yeah, well…despite your shenanigans last month, it didn’t cost me the match, so I’m not mad. I figured I can give you one more chance. But don’t push your luck, got it?”
He nodded eagerly as he struggled to get to his feet. “You got it, cuz.”
Throwing on her leather jacket, Ciara grabbed her keys from the side table. “Alright, let’s head out to that arcade you’ve been prattling on about for ages. I’m in the mood to celebrate.”
—-
“So, the little spider wants to play again.”
A nasty smile appeared on Ciara’s face as the camera opened up rather abruptly. The now brunette Irishwoman is leaning up against a brick wall, arms crossed over her chest and one foot resting against the wall behind her.
“But this time, you can’t hide behind any other competitors. It’s just you and me in that ring this time around. Call me Raid, because I’m about to exterminate you. And before you think it’s anything personal because of what you did to Alfie last month - I can assure you it isn’t.”
A British-accented voice off-camera was heard. “Hey!”
“Think of it this way, Alf. You actually proved useful that night. If it hadn’t been for the little arachnid getting completely distracted and focusing all her attention on beating you, I wouldn’t have won the match.”
“Huh, guess I didn’t think of it that way.”
“Because you don’t see the bigger picture, unlike me. I can see the landscape of Izanami changing as we speak. The hourglass is counting down on Liberty Dare’s time as the Pride of Izanami champion, because you’re all looking at the next champion. I punched my ticket last month, and this month I prove exactly why I deserve this shot, as well as give you all a preview as to what’s going to happen to Liberty Dare when she and I face off and I rip that title from her hands.”
The sneer on her face is vicious as her eyes hardened towards the camera. “But in the meantime, I get to sharpen my skills on poor little Spider Saya. All your fancy holds won’t be much use to you when I smash my boot into your face and knock you out cold. Or maybe I’ll make good on my word from last month and snap all your little limbs. Hard to be a spider with no working legs, hmm?”
A derisive little laugh pushed past her lips. “However it happens, the outcome remains the same. I continue my dominance, and my journey to the Pride of Izanami.”
With another cold stare to the camera, she raised her hand to cover the lens as the screen goes black.
“Would you keep your feckin’ knickers on, ya eejit! I told you I was in the middle of something!” The irritated Irish lilt of Ciara Ryan was powerful even through the closed bathroom door, and it was enough to make Alfie snap his mouth closed and keep quiet for fear of getting on the wrong side of her temper. Again.
Finally he heard the door open, and he sat up and stretched his back out with a groan. She emerged from the bathroom, a plume of steam billowing out behind her. She rubbed her head with one of the hotel towels, and as it dropped away Alfie let out a gasp. “Ci! Your hair!”
Indeed, the long blonde locks were no more. Now, they were coloured a rich chestnut hue, with a slight sheen of red. She raised an eyebrow at him. “You’ve never heard of hair dye before?”
His mouth gaped open and closed like a fish as he tried to formulate an answer that wouldn’t result in a vicious punch to the arm. “It’s just so…different.”
“Yeah, I felt like I needed a change, yunno?” She walked over to the mirrored closet doors and ruffled her hands through the still-damp tresses, a rare genuine smile appearing on her face. “Looks pretty damn good on me, if I do say so myself. Gonna go get it all cut and styled and whatnot this week. Figured if I’m about to become the new face of this brand, better make it a good one. Unlike some people, I don’t need to hide behind a mask.” She snickered.
“Yeah,” Alfie said, still with his eyes glued to the dyed hair on his cousin’s head.
Ciara’s eyes narrowed towards Alfie in the mirror, and she turned back around to face him. “Out with it. What’s wrong?”
Alfie shook his head vehemently. “Nothing! I’m just still getting used to it, that’s all!”
“Seems like what you should be getting used to is that walking boot,” she said, pointedly staring down at the grey plastic boot that still encased Alfie’s right foot. “I thought you were supposed to be out of that thing?”
The young Brit chuckled nervously, rubbing at the back of his neck. “I was, but then my new friends took me out to this karaoke bar one night. I’ll just say this - Japanese whisky is not for the lightweights.”
Ciara let out a sigh, closing her eyes and letting her head drop backwards on her neck. “Lord Jesus, give me patience ‘cause if you give me strength I’ll beat this boy.” She opened her eyes and lowered her head to look back at Alfie. “How the feck are you supposed to be out there with me at ringside if you’re hobblin’ along like a three-legged dog?”
He gaped at her for a moment, a hopeful smile appearing on his face. “Wait, you want me out at ringside with you?”
“Yeah, well…despite your shenanigans last month, it didn’t cost me the match, so I’m not mad. I figured I can give you one more chance. But don’t push your luck, got it?”
He nodded eagerly as he struggled to get to his feet. “You got it, cuz.”
Throwing on her leather jacket, Ciara grabbed her keys from the side table. “Alright, let’s head out to that arcade you’ve been prattling on about for ages. I’m in the mood to celebrate.”
—-
“So, the little spider wants to play again.”
A nasty smile appeared on Ciara’s face as the camera opened up rather abruptly. The now brunette Irishwoman is leaning up against a brick wall, arms crossed over her chest and one foot resting against the wall behind her.
“But this time, you can’t hide behind any other competitors. It’s just you and me in that ring this time around. Call me Raid, because I’m about to exterminate you. And before you think it’s anything personal because of what you did to Alfie last month - I can assure you it isn’t.”
A British-accented voice off-camera was heard. “Hey!”
“Think of it this way, Alf. You actually proved useful that night. If it hadn’t been for the little arachnid getting completely distracted and focusing all her attention on beating you, I wouldn’t have won the match.”
“Huh, guess I didn’t think of it that way.”
“Because you don’t see the bigger picture, unlike me. I can see the landscape of Izanami changing as we speak. The hourglass is counting down on Liberty Dare’s time as the Pride of Izanami champion, because you’re all looking at the next champion. I punched my ticket last month, and this month I prove exactly why I deserve this shot, as well as give you all a preview as to what’s going to happen to Liberty Dare when she and I face off and I rip that title from her hands.”
The sneer on her face is vicious as her eyes hardened towards the camera. “But in the meantime, I get to sharpen my skills on poor little Spider Saya. All your fancy holds won’t be much use to you when I smash my boot into your face and knock you out cold. Or maybe I’ll make good on my word from last month and snap all your little limbs. Hard to be a spider with no working legs, hmm?”
A derisive little laugh pushed past her lips. “However it happens, the outcome remains the same. I continue my dominance, and my journey to the Pride of Izanami.”
With another cold stare to the camera, she raised her hand to cover the lens as the screen goes black.
