Las Vegas, Nevada -
McCarran International Airport -
Earlier this week
A familiar sight seen often enough in the promotional work of Kristjan Baltasarsson, known in the respective worlds of professional wrestling and Mixed Martial Arts by his stage name of Fenris, or his nickname of "the White Wolf." Not only is Kristjan as well as his younger brother Aron extensive travelers, having made trips across the globe, but every once in awhile, now that they call Las Vegas, Nevada a temporary home of sorts, every so often they receive visitors back home from their native Reykjavík, Iceland. Most of the time it was their mother, Eva, who paid them a visit. Their baby sister Freyja even visited when it had been her duty to deliver Kristjan's beloved Kyssa from Iceland to Nevada. And over this past Yule, their entire immediate family traveled here to spend the holiday with the two young men.
But this most recent of visits was different; this time it was their father Benedikt who came to the States, and he had unexplainably brought the two antagonistic older sisters to Kristjan and Aron, Viktoria and Elin, along with him. This had raised the ire of Kristjan and suspicion of Aron, as it was known well enough to both family and friend that there was little to no love lost between those two sisters and their brothers. And any demand for an explanation from their father went unanswered. But as was said, this time there was something different.
From the moment of their arrival several weeks ago, Viktoria was not her usual hateful and volatile self. Nor was Elin -- mostly. Elin still had her moments but Viktoria remained meek, almost introverted and completely the opposite of her usual self, and when Kyssa started to act sympathetic towards the woman who she regularly barked or snapped at, it just raised more questions.
Questions that were recently answered, but that would come in time. For now, a visit that had originally meant to be a week at most and had turned into a near month had reached its conclusion. It had come time for Benedikt to return to Reykjavík, as he could not put off his work at home any longer. And their father knew that Elin and Viktoria had to return with him, despite Kristjan's surprising offer for them to stay awhile longer. Even with their passports viable for another sixty days, Benedikt did not want to risk any lingering hostilities between the four siblings to override what had been a surprisingly pleasant visit.
"Say goodbye to Ty and his aunt for us?" Benedikt said to Kristjan as the father first offered his hand to shake, then drew his oldest son in for an embrace as they stood at the boarding gates. It was almost time for their flight to be called for boarding, and they had been preparing for the hardest part of any visit; to say their temporary farewells. As with their mother in the past, both Kristjan and Aron had been able to secure guest passes to accompany their family past security to see them off.
Kristjan finally released his dad, his "tough guy" personae no match for a son just wanting the simple pleasure of giving his dad a hug. He said, "I will. He would have been with us here but we couldn't get a third pass."
Shame." Elin quipped as Aron took his turn in his dad's arms and Kristjan had a little difficulty succumbing to the embrace of the two sisters who had made his entire childhood and a big portion of his adult years a living nightmare. But yes, he did give Elin an awkward embrace, and then he looked at Viktoria. The eldest of the Baltasarsson children, and as Kristjan would freely (and rightly) claim; the biggest bitch on the face of the planet.
It was clear the tension was still there, as it probably always would be. When that much animosity had been suffered for that meany years, it could not simply be buried and forgotten. But what had just happened a few weeks back? What had come into the light? It helped matters -- a little bit. Viktoria took that first step, but Kristjan did not hug her. Not yet. he cupped her face in the palms of his hands and made her look him dead in the eye.
"You call me, do you hear?" Kristjan demanded with absolution, brooking no argument. "If he hurts you again. If he threatens you... shit! If he just come anywhere near you -- call me and I will bury the fucker!"
Viktoria nodded, and her brother was gifted with an extremely rare, tight lipped smile. What was he talking about? Again, it would be revealed all in due time, but the art of these stories is the build up. Always leave them wanting more!
He did not release her, not yet. He drew her into his arms, taking that first step and whispered into her ear so that only she could hear, "We probably won't ever be what Mom wants us to be, but I'll go to fucking jail if that bastard touches you again! I don't care!"
"United Airlines Flight 7A3 to Reykjavik, Iceland, now boarding!"
It was time. The announcement over the airport's sound system drew the attention of many and only then did Kristjan release Viktoria, once she understood fully his promise. And he was not lying nor paying her lip service. Whether they hated one another or not, they were still family. And just as she once defended him when he had been outed against his will, so would he over this recent discovery. Kristjan then gave Elin a brief hug, as Aron took his own turn with Viktoria. After one final farewell to his sons, Benedikt escorted the sisters to the boarding gate.
And all the brothers could do was watch...
Las Vegas, Nevada -
Several weeks ago
What had brought on this recent bridged gap in the Baltasarsson family? Now we did say that if you were patient, all would come to light and so here we are. And it all started with one simple statement...
"Gabriel, I need a favor."
Simple, yes? Well not if you would take into account that the one asking was Kristjan, as the man was not known for asking for help or favors, stubborn as he was. He always preferred too handle matters on his own, but this time it was a somewhat special occasion. And so here we were, at the training facility owned and operated by two of the premiere talents in SCW history; the makers of champions, Gabriel and Odette Stevens. Despite the fact that Kristjan had a big match approaching against Caleb Storms in his favored environment of a Lion's Den, the closest to an MMA fight he's had since signing on to the life of a professional wrestler, Kristjan was still responsible for the 'entertainment' of his visiting family. Benedikt had tried to assure his son that he and his sisters would be fine touring Las Vegas without them while Aron helped Kristjan prepare, but then Elin had to go and open her big mouth.
"It looks easy." Those were her words exactly, when taking about his training for both wrestling and MMA. Something you never wanted to say to any professional athlete that was as dedicated to their craft as Kristjan was to both of his.
"Well I can't say that doesn't stick in my gob, just a bit." Gabriel had mused aloud when Kristjan had confided in him what Elin had said and told him of his plan. "Yes. Yes I think I can help."
And help he would. Despite their laziness when it would come to actual work, Kristjan and Aron both knew that their sisters enjoyed working out, and the chance to do so in a modern, state-of-the-art facility such as the Stevens possessed was too tempting to pass up. While Kristjan did his thing with Gabriel and Maksym, Elin and Viktoria could do theirs -- with a little assistance.
"You sure he's going to go for this?" Kristjan whispered to Gabriel. "He usually refuses to help you when it involves women."
"Don't you worry about that." Gabriel assured one of his top students as their heads turned as one as Despayre emerged from the men's locker room in his workout clothes; his favorite Angel "Beware the Stare" t shirt and matching, loose pants and his old wrestling boots. He practically skipped over to where the men were gathered, and Gabriel draped an arm around Despy's slim shoulders.
"Okay Despy, ready to help out today?" He asked, to which the ever helpful and cheerful little guy gave him an enthusiastic nod. Gabriel said, "Great! But we're going to do something a little bit different this time around."
"What's that?" Despayre asked with a wide eyed wonder. "Does this mean I hafta let him win?" And by him, he was obviously referencing to Kristjan who Despayre jetted a thumb toward, earning a frown from the Icelandic star. from the first time they met in a training session, and to this day, Despayre had run circles around Fenris. Quite literally!
"No, nothing like that." Gabriel assured him, and Despayre wiped a bead of non-existent sweat from his brow. "It's not Fenris here that we need you to get in the ring with. He's working with Maksym there today, anyway." Despayre glanced across the gymnasium floor to spot the MMA legend and Hall of Famer who lent a hand in keeping Kristjan's skills in the Mixed martial Arts sharp. The Stevens just so happened to let him do so in their gym so as to keep a close eye on their mutual charge.
Despayre glanced back to Gabriel as his pseudo 'big brother' said, "They're the ones I want you to help with today." Gabriel pointed toward where the workout equipment, the machines and free weights were stationed, and there was Kristjan and Aron's two sisters. Elin and Viktoria were making full use of the facilities with the Stevens' blessing; Elin on the treadmill that Despayre was never able to conquer, and Viktoria lifting free weights while their father watched closely. They both wore their workout gear, which they had initially brought to Nevada for their morning jog; a habit they shared with their brothers though neither side would readily admit so. And seeing their physiques, Gabriel, much as he did with Aron whenever he worked out at the gym, privately pondered the idea of either or both being entered into the sport.
Despayre has a look-see at to whom his Gabriel is referring to and immediately he started shaking his head in an emphatic "no" while taking a hasty step in retreat. "You know I'd really love to help you out," He started to say with a hysterical giggle. "But I have to go count my corn before it pops!" And he did a speedy little U-Turn to make his escape but knowing his Despy as he did, Gabriel caught him by the arm and reeled him in.
"It's okay, Despy!" Gabriel said with an assurance that would have been taken more seriously were it not for the laugh. But this was Despy, after all. Gabriel continued, "I know you don't like helping with the girls because gentlemen do not wrestle ladies..." To which Despayre nodded. Gabriel went on, "... so all Kristjan here and I need from you is to give his sisters the run around."
"Que?"
Kristjan added, "We want you to let them try and catch you in the ring."
Despayre blinked as he glanced back and forth between the two and asked, "Whhhhhyy?"
"Because my sisters think wrestling looks easy and the hardest damn thing to do with you in the ring is just get a hold of you, that's why." Kristjan answered with just a hint of snark.
"Oh." Despayre nodded to him, then turned to Gabriel and asked, "But what if they won't wanna chase me?"
Gabriel rustled his shoulder in his hand and leaned in with a smile, "You're Despy, and they're girls..." Which just made the little guy huff and roll his eyes, "Darn this uncontrollable machismo!" Before Despayre scrambled inside of the ring, practically toppling between the bottom and middle ropes.
"Dömur!" Gabriel called aloud, his voice carrying easily against the gym's walls, and Elin and Viktoria casually turned their heads and both Gabriel and Kristjan beckoned them over with a wave of their arms. Followed by Benedikt, the sisters approached with wary expressions, their brother's smarmy smile not helping. Once they stood before him, Gabriel clapped and rubbed his palms together.
"Okay, ladies." He said, using Icelandic for their benefit. "So your brother tells me that you think that wrestling looks easy." Earning Kristjan a dirty look from both sisters but he was used to it so it practically bounced right off of him.
"You told." Viktoria states matter-of-factlly, and Gabriel answers for their brother, "He did. So when you came here to work out, I had an idea, to make a deal and prove a point. I want you both to get in this ring here..." He patted the ring apron. "... with him."
They turned and looked at Despayre who was openly fidgeting. The opportunity to be chased by girls never one he was thrilled with. Benedikt was the first to answer, shaking his head, "My daughters are not wrestlers."
"I'm aware, sir." Gabriel assured him respectfully. "I would never risk them getting hurt over making a point. All I want to do is run a little test, to show them nothing is very easy as it seems. All I want them to do, is try to catch Despy there."
"Why?" Asked Elin and Gabriel answered, "Standard speed test I give every prospective student. Gave it to your brother here..." He patted Fenris on the back, knowing with satisfaction the disaster it was when Kristjan tried to catch the little bugger.
Gabriel saw the apprehension on the sisters' faces and held his hands out, "Tell you what. I'll sweeten the deal. Catch him in a single minute, and dinner is on me tonight. Trendiest place in Vegas." That offer softened their expressions and Gabriel raised his brow, "Yes?"
Finally relenting, Elin and Viktoria lowered their towels to a nearby bench and climbed carefully into the ring, their father watching like a hawk every step of the way. The sisters stood side-by-side, watching Despayre who was wide eyed at the trap he was caught in. Gabriel approached the time keeper's bell and picked up the hammer.
He said, "At the bell...!" And he gave it a sharp clang, and the sisters immediately raced toward Despayre who squeaked in surprise and dove through their legs and slid to the opposite side of the ring. This caught the sisters unexpectedly and they collided and toppled to the mat. They scrambled to their feet, escaping the tangled mass of one another's limbs, and circled Despayre who watched both as they sought to cut him off from both sides. They then started chasing him, Despayre crying out in mock alarm as they scrambled to grab him, with him escaping their clutches each time. On the outside, the men watched with much amusement as their eyes darted from right to left, up and down, as no matter how Elin and Viktoria tried to cut him off and catch him, the little guy managed to elude their hands each and every time.
"Time!" Gabriel called, ringing the bell again and this time Despayre slid right out of the ring and hid behind Aron, Kristjan and Gabriel, the only safe place from the amorous babes! Both sisters looked winded from the brief excursion, staring outside of the ring. Elin held a hand out toward Despayre's general direction and Viktoria shook her head, "How...?"
"It's like I said," Gabriel answered. "Things aren't as easy as they look. Your brother has been battered bloody and bruised at times, and you think it 'looks easy'?" Viktoria and Elin stood there, properly chastised, and Gabriel buried the hatchet and put them out of their misery. "Dinner is on me as promised."
"But we didn't...." Viktoria started to say, and Gabriel waved her protest off, smiling and saying, "Nobody ever does."
***
And it was later in the day when Maksym and Gabriel had finally called it quits for the time being, satisfied that Fenris was ready in all areas for the Lion's Den match coming up fast at Into the Void VIII. Fenris had showered and changed, and the men were still waiting for the sisters to finish their own so they could ready for going out as promised, when Gabriel's wife and proprietor of the facility walked from out of the women's locker room area with a questionable expression on her face, one that bore concern and stark curiosity.
Odette approached the men and inserted herself between her husband and Fenris, and shook her head as she asked, "Kristjan, what happened to your sister?"
Kristjan frowned, "What are you talking about? Which sister?"
"Viktoria." Odette answered. "I just took them in some extra towels and her back is bruised up and it looks like a welt on her neck." Kristjan looked to his father who seemed to avoiding his gaze, and Odette asked, "Was she in an accident?"
"I don't know." Kristjan answered, his eyes never leaving his father's visage. "Was she?" But before Benedikt could answer his son's question, the two sisters emerged from the locker room, carrying their bags. They approached but stopped when they saw all eyes on them.
"What?" Elin asked, but Kristjan walked up, his words for Viktoria only, "What happened?"
"What are you...?" Viktoria started to ask, but was fast replaced by a protest as her brother took her by the arm and forcibly turned her around. He lifted the back of her shirt up, and she seemed as frozen by his actions as Kristjan was by what he was seeing. There were indeed bruises spread out across her back, many which seemed to be fading but the tell-tale signs were there. Elin did not react, nor did Benedikt as Aron slowly walked up and saw it for himself. Gabriel turned Despayre away so that he would not see, and as for Viktoria? Her eyes were closed in shame, and the tears started to stream down her cheeks.
Kristjan turned to his father and there was no leeway behind his voice, not even to the man he looked up to above all others as he demanded, "What. Happened!?"
Las Vegas, Nevada -
McCarran International Airport -
Earlier this week
And back to where we started. Wondering what happened and why we left off there? Trust me when I say that there is more to come, and all questions will be answered. But there are other matters to tend to, and business at hand.
Kristjan and Aron had watched calmly in silence as the United Airlines jet had taken off, carrying their family away from them and on their way back to Iceland. Only when the jet was in the air and out of their viewpoint at the windows, did the Baltasarsson brothers finally turn away and make their way away from the gates and security checkpoints, and down to the baggage claim where Kristjan's erstwhile boyfriend Ty West waited, having borrowed his aunt's SUV to drive the family to the airport.
Spotting the brothers descending the escalator, Ty stood up so that he might meet them halfway. "Everything good?" He asked. "They get on the jet alright?"
Both brothers nodded silently, Kristjan's own expression marred with grim anger beneath the surface. Seeing this, Ty sighed and wrapped an arm around his partner's shoulders, even if Kristjan wasn't altogether comfortable with PDA.
Ty said, "She'll be okay, Jan." He said, using the affectionate nickname he had coined. "They'll take care of the guy who did that to her."
"They better." Kristjan declared ominously. "Or I will."
Ty and Aron shared a brief look between them, before Aron sighed and Ty tightened his comforting grip. He said, "C'mon Jan. I'm going to take you two out tonight. Something you never been to before. Get your mind off things."
But Aron said, "Thanks, Ty, but I am a walking zombie right now. I need to get some sleep. Just take me home, then you two go out and have fun."
Ty nodded and looked to his boyfriend who exhaled sharply and asked, "What did you have in mind?"
"Does he love me I want to know
How can I tell if he loves me so
Is it in his eyes?
Oh no! You'll be deceived
Is it in his sighs?
Oh no! He'll make believe
If you want to know if he loves you so
It's in his kiss
That's where it is"
The Flex Cocktail Lounge was not the usual type of drinking haunt that you would find Kristjan frequent. If truth be told, he did not frequent gay bars of any kind because he did not like the loud, flamboyant scene but preferred a more subdued, somber atmosphere. Regular bars, Daniel Morgan's sports bar, and especially the british style pubs Gabriel introduced him to -- those he enjoyed. This place was not quite what you would expect when thinking of a gay bar. The atmosphere itself reminded one of the regular neighborhood bar; it was neither large like many clubs in Las Vegas, nor was it pulsating with techno music to which bodies were grinding on the dance floor. In fact, there was very little room to dance at all!
What it did have currently was a top ranked drag performance, and the four drag queens were on the T shaped stage, performing to Cher's "Shoop, Shoop" song, a staple for these popular shows. The "star" of this show was a beauty, damn near impossible to tell whether she was a he or not; with curly, shoulder length hair and a spaghetti strap, shimmering cocktail dress and heels. Her backup were no less fetching, as one was made up to appear to be Cher herself, with long blonde wig and a shimmering pantsuit. There was a token "big girl" performer who really did look everything what one might think of as a drag performer. And the fourth...
"You have GOT to be fucking kidding me!"
Those were the words Kristjan said as he set foot inside of the parlor of the lounge, accompanied by Ty. The two handsome young men naturally attracted many an eye their way and smiles of appreciation accompanying them. Ty smiled at one or two, nodding to them, but Kristjan all but ignored anyone's attention save for Ty's own. His eyes were on the fourth performer on the stage;
A statuesque African American, with a bubblegum pink wig and top hat, matching makeup and a dress that appeared to be made entirely out of compact discs. To the casual, untrained eye, one would think they were staring at a Teddy Warren look alike up on that stage!
Kristjan turned to Ty with an expression of wonder and disbelief, his arm held out to indicate 'Drag Teddy' as he said to Ty, "Is this some funny way of researching my opponent?"
"No!" Ty scoffed, looking up on the stage and shaking his head at the irony of the look alike. "That is just a coincidence." Kristjan stared at him for a brief, harrowing moment before turning back to stare at the proceedings onstage. Ty saw that he was not comfortable and said, "Come on Jan, you said you never been to a drag show before."
"Yeah and there's a reason for that!" Kristjan retorted. "I avoid them by choice."
"What have you got against drag shows?"
"You mean besides watching a bunch of men parade around in women's clothes, mouthing the words to other people's songs? Making a stereotype against men like us?" Kristjan rolled his eyes. "Yeah, the ability to put on makeup and do that is a REAL art!"
"Come on." Ty guided him with a hand on the small of his back, directing him toward an empty, oval table in the crook of the T stage. One saucy little drag queen, obviously just over the legal drinking age and new to the scene given his garish application of makeup and overly flamboyant attire, slides up beside the shell shocked Kristjan, snaking her arm in his own.
"Well hel-lo there!" She said with a lisp. "I don't believe I've ever seen you here before."
"And I don't believe you're a woman!" Kristjan shot back, pulling his arm free and delving further into the club and toward the table as Ty shrugged sheepishly, offering a "Sorry!" Before hurrying after his man.
It did not take long for the table just big enough for two to find itself covered with shot glasses and now-empty pitchers of beer. The next performer has taken to the stage, clad in a black leather, bikini-style dominatrix outfit and performing to Garbage's "No. 1 Crush" when the amorous drag queen from before slides up in between Ty and Kristjan, with her coifed manicured nails on the edge of the table, leaning in so as to offer Kristjan a close up shot of what she was trying to offer.
She said, "I think we got started off on the wrong foot."
"We didn't get started on anything." Kristjan said without hesitation. "I'm with someone."
The drag queen all but ignored what Kristjan had just said about being spoken for, and ignored Ty's presence altogether which just worked Kristjan's raw nerve all the more. She said, "I thought maybe we could start over? I could but you a drink and..."
"What part of I'm not interested are you not getting!?" Kristjan had finally had enough of her not taking "no" for an answer and blatantly insulting Ty right in front of him. The drag queen leaned back, one hand on the table and the other now on her hip in a posture of pure attitude.
She asked, "What, you have something against drag queens hunny?"
"Not if I can help it!" Came the alcohol induced retort. "If I wanted to sleep with a woman, I'd be straight!" And suddenly the drag queen's hand was around the near empty glass of beer and she reared back and literally threw its contents in Kristjan's face!
Ty froze. Literally, he froze. Eyes wide in shock and his face practically screaming, "Oh shit!" as Kristjan ever so slowly pushed himself up to his feet....
Stevens Home
Gabriel and Odette Stevens lay curled up against each other on the large sofa, watching the evening news when a story suddenly came on about a riot erupting at a local drag club. Gabriel's eyes never strayed from the screen as he extended a hand over to his wife in an open offer.
"Twenty says it was." He said, and Odette clasped his hand in her own, giving it a firm shake.
"You're on!"
Clark County Detention Center
Both Kristjan and Ty sat in the jail cell, waiting for Aron and Lora to come make bail for the both of them. Kristjan glanced down at his bruised knuckles, his skin stained with cheap makeup and glitter. He turned to Ty and smiled, "You were right. That was fun!"
Ty just turned and stared at him like he was crazy!
"You can't be fucking serious! I guess I asked for it! I mean, how dare I expect a little bit of respect to be thrown my way, to be tossed a bone every now and then because of what I thought I had accomplished at one point in time. God knows I am not the type to brag. I know, I know! I didn't really buy that either. But come on! I think I did pretty damn well when I was at the top of the mountain. Until I came across Austin James Mercer, I put everybody down that they put in front of me! Almost an entire damn gear of being undefeated! And since that title loss? I haven't been beaten once! My only pinfall loss being to Austin himself."
"The last bad ass match that I got to have? That was against Caleb Storms. Kid had balls enough to step into my territory. He was concerned as he should have been, but he did it! Maybe he did not win, but he tried. He fought! But in the end, I won. I knew I would. And what happened after that? Two shows go by and I am just breezed right over! No booking. No match and no personal appearance even scheduled! So I do what I have to do and I make a little noise about being tired of being overlooked and disrespected! And how am I answered back?"
The screen came on in the media training room at Gabriel and Odette's facility, showing a screen shot of the "new and improved" Teddy Steele. Fenris stared at it without expression and just shook his head.
<img align=right src= "http://www.geocities.ws/scwmaterial/Pictures/girly.jpg">"With THAT!"
"I swear to fucking god that when I saw this, I thought someone upstairs had relaxed SCW's policy on intergender matches and they had booked me against some woman! That is until Mark Ward straightened me out and told me the impossible; the woman is a man!"
Fenris shook his head, eyes wide as he took that nugget of unbelievable information in to process.
"Then I figured it must have been some kind of joke from Christian Underwood, Maybe he was getting his rocks off when seeing two men who prefer the company of men clashing inside of the Ring. Only to overhear the protests of Teddy himself, claiming that he is all man and yet prefers the company of women. Seriously."
He tilted his head forward, the obvious sarcasm screaming from the expression on his face.
"Who the hell does this bubble gum tarte think he's kidding!? What kind of man goes around looking like that!? Seriously Teddy, why don't you just be proud of Who You Are and come flying out of that closet on your Hoover! It makes you who you are, and as far as I can tell? Who you are is not a man by any stretch of the imagination! At least, not a straight one."
"Okay so a few people out there might protest this and try and convince me otherwise because you've surrounded yourself with a couple dollar store ho's called the Gemstones. All pretty and full of spice, but how the hell is this supposed to convince anyone that you aren't an ass spelunker, Warren!? Well for one, you call them your GEMSTONES! And two? Don't most flamboyant gay men like to surround themselves with women like that and call them their 'hags?' What is their purpose, Teddy? What do you think they are going to accomplish at ringside when you're in there with me, getting your ass handed to you? Do you think they're going to distract me with their fake tits popping out and underground face lifts smiling in my direction? Are you planning to have them get physically involved because you're not man enough to face me without the added benefit of them in your corner?"
"All they are to me is common street walker trash that you have to pay to pretend to be interested in you, speaking volumes about you as a man and them as women! You don't have to worry about me ruining their collagen injections or botching their most recent face lifts."
He shook his head.
"I don't hit women. Never have, never will. I don't pretend to. Because unlike you, I'm a man. A man that prefers to share my bed with another man, but at least I have the balls to be open about it now! The harder you try to convince anyone that you are what you say you are, the less anyone will be willing to believe you."
"Then of course we could bring up Kate, a woman you had been .." **air quotes** ".. happily married to now for how long, only for you to embrace this new change where you wear more makeup and hair coloring than the average corpse in a funeral parlor! Now I don't know what is happening with Kate. Not my business. But for you to turn away a woman like that, for trash like what you surround yourself with now? Sounds more and more like you used Kate to try and shield your true self from the pubic eye. Even during my own share of time in that closet, even I didn't resort to using the love of a woman as a weapon against her."
He clapped his hands together with a sarcastic smile.
"Bravo, Teddy! Truly a magnificent performance!"
He then paused and held up a hand.
"The only thing of note that you ever really accomplished was in Phoenix when you beat Vinnie."
Fenris tapped himself with a forefinger to the chest.
"I've wrestled Vinnie. Twice, with the World Championship on the line, and I can testify that beating that man is by no means an easy task. But somehow you did. I guess that's evidence enough that miracles do happen. But before that? You lost a match to that jobber clown, and did so in pretty goddamn spectacular fashion! After this, and when our match was announced, you go and insult me and act as if YOU are the one being put out by stepping inside of a ring with me. With ME! You act like it's some kind of inconvenience to be in the ring with a former World Champion while the entire time, you have your eyes glued to the ass of Griffin Hawkins -- or his title belt. Whatever! Completely overlooking the fact that before you fight the Griffin, you have to get past the pissed off wolf! And I know I have said before that opponents have said or done things that pissed me off, but I have never -- never -- had one treat me as virtually non existent! Treating me with such blatant disrespect; like I don't matter!"
"Fine."
He shrugged, an alarming look of calm suddenly on his face.
"If you want to act that way, who am I to argue? I am under no responsibility to warn you about what is coming. If you haven't learned by example by now, then I can't help you. What good would a warning do when you have your head buried so deep up your own ass, you wouldn't be able to hear it anyway? Look at what has happened to the people that I've been in the ring with that I like, that I respect! Look at what has happened when I was in the ring with my own boyfriend!"
"Then, flip that in reverse and just try to imagine what is going to happen to a weasly little back stabbing bitch such as yourself that I could not possibly think any less of."
"You picked a bad time to be yourself. I am going to punt your ass so hard it'll knock that pink shit right off of your face and out of your hair, making you once again look like you French kissed a wall socket! Personally, I've been boxed into a corner. professionally, aimless and disrespected. Then along comes Teddy, and I am going to turn what I usually do into a fucking art form where you're concerned! You better hope that I knock your ass out cold and fast, because I would love nothing more than to tie you up in knots and make you scream like a little girl, and just before you beg the referee to end the match? I'll let you go and simply wash, rinse, and repeat the process all over again!"
"I am a wolf, Teddy. And you?"
He held his arms out.
"Just a sheep."
