I remember in my last training session before my match against Salco for Blaze of Glory XI, Gabriel had taken the time to think and he had said to me; ‘So, you never really did tell me what you were doing back home in New Orleans. I remember you and I having a chat when we first met. Discussing possibilities in case things didn’t pan out the way that you had intended?’
And he was right; we had. I had a job that I adored, working in retail of all things - Petsmart, to be exact. But deep down something Gabriel had stoked in me, a fire if you will, made me consider something a little bit bigger and a great deal more satisfying. And so… I went back to school.
4 Paws Veterinary Clinic -
New Orleans, Louisiana It was relatively smaller for a veterinarian clinic in a major city like New Orleans, at least compared to some of the larger chain clinics and emergency hospitals that catered to our adored, four-legged fur babies. But to the owner, an older woman known by her employees and patients - well, the “parents” of the patients, as Dr. Mary, that was quite fine by her. It was located in a small plaza, surrounded by restaurants, a store or two and even a Petsmart. Yes, the very same as mentioned above. But the sign was like a beacon, not just because of the name featured above, but the comical notation below that read in big, bold letters;
“4 PAWS -
I TOLD MY CAT HE’S NOT THE BOSS OF ME.
HE DISAGREED.”
Dr. Mary did not want her clinic to be one of those cold, drab animal hospices where the vets and techs cared more about charging an extra hundred than by doing right by the animal under their care. She wanted her place to be one where there was faith and caring - and confidence. And recently, Dr. Mary had hired a young woman who had just completed her certificate to become a licensed Veterinary Assistant. A first step to possibly more - namely a future technologist.
The young man, in his mid to late forties, sat patiently albeit a touch stiff on the lone chair in the waiting room, his eyes solely on the medium-sized pet carrier that sat on the table in the middle of the room. He and his “boy” had been coming to 4 Paws for years now, and the wait was never long - and this time was no different than when the door to the back of the facility opened and in walked the smiling form of Fleur Vilatte, known to the SCW Universe as Devona.
File in hand, Devona had eyes solely for the carrier and its occupant as she said, “Well hi there buddy!” And then, in good natured humor, she leaned over just enough to wink at the man seated and she added, “You too!”
The man just smiled as the easy going nature of this place, raising a hand in greeting as Devona leaned down at the waist to peer inside of the carrier where the orange and white tabby growled audibly at her.
“Oh I know.” She said in a soft, soothing voice as she undid the latches on the carrier door to allow it to open freely, but the cat inside didn’t budge. In fact, his ears pinned back and his fur bristled at the intrusion, the growling in the base of his throat intensifying until ultimately he hissed at her. Devona said casually, “Oh it’s going to be like that, huh? Alright. I’ll just have to pull out the big guns.”
She turned to the small, glass jar on the edge of the sink in the room and removed a small scoop of liver and beef flavored kitty treats and with the nod of consent from the feline’s
owner pet, she placed them on a small dish kept just for such occasions but placed it just out of reach of the carrier’s opening. Devona then stepped back and waited, as the scent from the wet treats wafted toward the cat’s sensitive nose and it took a heightened interest. He shifted slowly toward the opening and then halfway outside to investigate, until the cat finally stepped up to the dish and indulged.
Devona, hand on her hip, just shook her head, “Typical man.” And she cautiously approached and used her index and middle finger to gently stroke the back of the cat’s neck, the growl ignoring again but only briefly until it slowly succumbed and calm overtook it. Once finished, the cat looked up to her and allowed her to freely stroke him under the chin and Devona finally scooped him up into her arms for a cuddle she was now famous for with the animals that came through here, her eyes going to the other man in the room.
“So how is Sebby?” Devona asked, the coined nickname for the infamous Sebastian. A cat that had drawn quite the reputation for himself as a patient of Dr. Mary’s. Ornery didn’t even begin to describe the nigh 17 year old cat. He was downright mean and antisocial, and Devona was usually the assistant that was tasked for his appointments as she had grown to become the only one who could handle or calm him, as she was doing now. Not that she made it entirely unscathed since their first meeting. The old man had escaped in the backroom once after she had just been hired on and she had made the rookie mistake of cornering him under a table and the back of her hand had paid the price with some nasty claw scratches.
The man answered, “He’s still pretty active for his age. I’ve caught him on top of the bathroom door a time or two…”
“At seventeen?” Devona looked suitably impressed, turning her head toward the cat who had his eyes half closed in contentment while she indulged him with scratches behind the ear and under the chin. “Well aren't you just the old show off? Asking dad here who he's calling old!"
It was now just after 6 in the afternoon and the clinic had been closed for the better part of an hour. After staying behind to help lend a hand in the final cleanup, Devona, her co-worker August and Dr. Mary were calling it a day as the clinic would be closed the next day. As Dr. Mary locked up and prepared the alarm, Devona (again) expressed her gratitude for her boss working with her temporary wrestling schedule. She said, “Thank you again for giving me the time off so I could do this.”
“My pleasure.” Dr. Mary kindly responded. “My grandkids watch SCW, so I just tell them you work for me and it makes me Super Grandma.”
"And it won't cause you problems with coverage?" She asked, obviously showing concern.
Dr. Mary answered amicably, "No, I have everything covered between Augie here two interns helping from the local community college."
To this, Devona just smiles as August aka Augie spoke up to ask, “Barbados, huh?” To which she nodded in the affirmative. He then asked, “Where else after that?”
Devona sighed, then answered truthfully, “Well that depends on if we advance in the tournament. Then it would be Scotland, maybe Romania and if we go the entire way - London.”
Dr. Mary finished with the alarm and said, “I obviously got into the wrong profession!” But Devona and Augie laughed along, knowing despite the doctor’s love for travel, she wouldn’t trade careers with her animals for all the exotic locations in the world. They set foot out into the cooling evening air, Dr. Mary asking, “So, any plans for your night off?”
Devona answered, “Dinner with my boys, really. Their momma and my gramma are at their Ladies Auxiliary meeting so we thought we’d just grab a bite together and - oh! Speak of the devils…”
She smiled in the direction of the parking lot, prompting Dr. Mary and August to turn to find the garGANTUAN truck taking up two parking spots, and in front of it waiting were Devona’s “adopted” brothers in Beauty and Beast.
As Devona walked over to greet her fellas, Beast just nudged his head toward his younger brother and sighed with obvious exasperation, “You talk to him!”
“What’s… going on?” Devona looked back and forth between the older and younger sibling, and Beauty just rolled his eyes. He answered, “This big ape told me that you were going to Barbados alone - without us! And I told him that was impossible because we go everywhere together when you tour. There’s no way we wouldn’t be going to that paradise…”
“Honey? Sweety?” Devona smiled, placing a hand on Beauty’s broad shoulder. She asked, “Do you know where Barbados is?”
Beauty looked to the air in contemplation, and then said, “Okay just for fun, let’s pretend that I don’t.”
“It’s in the Caribbean you twit!” Beast barked, and before Beauty could retort in kind as the brothers often did, Devona calmed the storm and reasoned, “That’s over two thousand miles away. Your brother has his job, he can't just take off on a whim, and I need you to watch after your momma and my gramma.”
Oo! Dirty pool! Playing on the protective stance any “big brother” might feel for a “little sister” and their respective extended families. It was a dirty tactic to play, but by far the easiest hand to be dealt and effective too!
Beauty finally grumbled in acceptance, “Fine. But you shouldn’t be going alone.”
Devona smiled as Beauty escorted her around the massive truck to the passenger side where he opened the door for her, giving her a boost up from around the waist. She said, “I’ll be fine! Barbados is very tourist safe!”
As Beauty settled in beside her and they buckled in, Beast started the ignition, casually pointing out, “He meant without him!”
And a gust of smoke exploded from the exhaust as the monster truck pulled out…
The Cajun King Buffet - As was the usual reaction, the staff - management included - all looked with wary, wide eyes as the behemoth Beast held the door open for Devona to enter the restaurant first, followed by Beauty. They were regulars here at one of N'Awlins best “all you can eat” establishments and each time Beast alone practically sent the kitchen staff into a frenzy to keep up with his monstrous appetite.
The trio piled their plates high and found a table that would accommodate their size
Beast polished off the last of his sweet tea in a single gulp, the nearby waitress waiting in the wings to hurry and grab his glass for a prompt refill. Beast wiped his mouth and casually observed, “For someone headed to Barbados, you don’t seem very excited.”
Devona, about to take a bite of her seasoned steak and shrimp, sighed as she set her form down on her plate as beauty paused in his own meal to look to see what was troubling their girl. Devona just ran a hand through her long, black hair and sighed, “I’m beginning to regret signing up for this whole event.”
“We didn’t push you too hard, did we?” Beauty asked, knowing when she got the call from Mark Ward about signing up for the 2023 tournament, their Didi was indeed interested as the love of the sport had never left her heart, but she still resisted. It was only the intervention of the boys that finally convinced her to go for it.
“No, you didn’t.” She shook her head. “It’s just … the closer things got, the more I was looking forward to it. The theme of the tour! The wait to see who I might get to team with… Now a part of me wishes I could just turn back time and slap my own hand before I signed the dotted line.”
“Why?” Beauty asked. “Who’s your partner?”
Both Devona and Beast looked at the scatterbrained young man with barely hidden exasperation, knowing full well who her partner was but he just had a REALLY bad memory problem - one of his many arterial flow problems above the neck, as his brother would say.
Devona continued on, “I’ll be honest; I was actually ready to throw a party when I found out J2H was my partner.”
“Can’t blame you there.” Beast pointed out. “You must have the strongest partner in the whole thing.”
“Who also has a Napoleon complex and the emotional maturity level of a toddler.” Devona added on. “When our team was announced, I was hoping to find him and talk to him. Introduce myself but in typical fashion, he acted as if I was just the side attraction compared to him. Like he wanted nothing to do with me. I don’t even get why he would bother to sign up for a tag team event if he didn’t want to be a part of a team.”
“He was probably hoping Mikah would sign up and they’d be paired together.” Beast pointed out, to which Devona yielded with a nod. “They’re made for each other." She stated outright. "That much is for sure. They both act as if the world owes them and they want nothing to do with the world around them when chances are it’s more the other way around. I’m surprised she hasn’t tried moving in on Melody’s territory, it’s not like she hasn’t a rep for that sort of thing anyway.”
"You have to cut him some credit, Didi." Beast pointed out, “He's not that same kid who lost his debut against Angel and was a running joke in the locker room. He was tormented every time he stepped inside of the dressing room, let alone the ring. It's only natural he always has his walls up."
Devona said, "I'm not denying the fact the man busted his booty to turn his life around. Austin turned him from a JTTS…"
Before Beauty could ask, Devona and Beast answered in unison, "Jobber To The Stars."
Beauty nodded and Devona went on with her train of thought, “I will be the first to admit how much he's improved inside of the ring.. but outside of the ring he's still the Brat Prince!"
“He had the longest World title reign.” Even Beauty was able to point out accurately. “It hasn’t come close to being broken.”
"Yeah, seven years ago." She countered. "He's been feeding off the fact even when it could be argued the roster is more challenging now than it was then. Then what happened when he regained the title? Rather than man up and defend the championship he vacated it so he would never be beaten for it. Then he did the same thing with the Internet title when he fell into that title shot, and even hinted he would have done it with the mixed tag titles had he and Crystal won!"
"Didn't he just tweet he was going to do the same thing again if you two go all the way and he wins the title?" Beast questioned to which Devona rolled her eyes.
"Ah grosse surprise!' She stated with sarcasm. "I don't get why Mark and Christian let him get involved in these title scenarios if he's just going to dump on the championships! It's an insult to every man there!"
"C'mon Didi…" Beast prompted. "Let's go get another plate "
"I'm not finished with this one." She said, to which Beast stood up, bringing her along with him. "Then come with me while I get mine!"
The pair slowly walked along the rows of piping hot food, Beast casually loading up another plate while he asked, “What’s going on with you?”
“What do you mean?” She asked with a slight frown.
“What I mean is,” He begun. “Is that you never let anyone in the business get to you like this before. Not even Veronica Taylor.”
“Your point?”
Beast said, “My point is why are you letting him get under your skin like this? He’s your partner, not your opponent.”
“I know, I know.” She sighed. “You’d hardly know he was my partner the way things started. Talking down to me, acting as if being my partner is a joke or some big inconvenience… men like J2H wipe their asses with diamonds and expects the world to kiss his feet all because of an accomplishment that took place years ago. And when he doesn’t get what he wants, he throws a fit that would make any grade school toddler green with envy! Christ, I’m surprised he even bothered to sign up to begin with.”
“Because of his love for the people?” Beast joked.
She shook her head, “Because it means he has to actually work his way back up rather than just have things handed to him on a gold platter.”
“You know Didi…” Beast sighed, turning away from the buffet with an impressive serving on his plate. “If this is bothering you so much, you could just drop out.”
“No,” She shook her head. “I can’t.”
“Why not?”
She smirked, “I won’t give the Real House Husband of Beverly Hills the satisfaction!”
The Chase Vault -
BarbadosThe Chase Vault - located in the cemetery of the Christ Church Parish - was one of the world's most intriguing unsolved mysteries due to the ‘urban legend’ of moving coffins within its stone walls. Ever since the burial of the Chase family in the early 1800s, experts have been trying to explain how - and why - the final resting places of the dead could have been disturbed so when no lock had been undone nor seal broken. Yet time and again when the doors to the vault were opened to bury another, the caskets of those already inside had been in a state of disarray; being moved clear across the floor and at times, up against the walls within.
Of course this would lead tourists, fans of the macabre, to pay a visit to see this mysterious vault for themselves and perhaps try to come up with their own reasonable explanation for what all others have been unable to do so. It would also serve as the perfect setting for Devona and something she had to say for her upcoming Blast From the Past match. The young Creole walked around the perimeter of the Vault, paying no mind to tour the remainder of the grounds, as this was why she, and SCW as a whole, was here.
“You know when I first decided to accept Mark Ward’s offer to join this year’s Blast From the Past, it wasn’t because of the chance to team with some random man who in some cases, I may It was really because I always had a bit of a fondness for the unknown. Unsolved Mysteries was always one of my favorite shows to stream, and the chance to visit firsthand some of the world’s most intriguing and in some cases - unnerving - mystery locations, I was sold! I mean, I’m a N’Awlins girl, born and bred! N’Awlins is the VooDoo capital of the United States and God knows we have enough mysterious happenings in that city to satiate any appetite for the macabre! But the chance to experience Ogopogo, the Lighthouse of Eilean Moore, and so much more! It was just too good of an opportunity to miss out on!”
“Then, of course, there’s the fact that I get to team with who has to be the youngest Hall of Fame inductee in SCW history - J2H! And if we can cast any ill will or disagreements aside, I’d be lying if I told anyone that I could not have drawn a better partner. Some folks say that everybody loves a winner…”
Devona closed her eyes and shook her head.
“That’s not entirely true, and J2H is the expectation to the rule. From the time he won the World Championship back in 2016 and shut up every one of the armchair experts who called him a walking joke, I can count on one hand the number of times that man has lost a match. Now some might hate him for constantly winning, others might bring up his rotten attitude - or a combination of both. I myself have my own issues to work through with the man, and like it or not, he's going to have to do the same if he has any hope of reaching the finals of this whole event, let alone make it past the opening round. I just hope he’s watching this right now because if he thinks he can go the distance alone, we might as well just concede right now because it just doesn’t work that way! And if he thinks I’m going to just stand there on the apron like a good, little girl and watch as he does all the work for us – well I know how much he hates being wrong about anything but - well, he is very much mistaken.”
“I am not the sort of woman that stands around and allows anyone - man or woman - do my share of the work and if I want to bask in a bit of the spotlight, then damn it! I’m going to get inside of that ring if I have to force the tag and I am going to earn it!”
Devona then begins to walk along the path, leaving the Chase Vault temporarily behind her.
“Another key to this whole event is having confidence in your partner, in knowing that he or she is going to be able to handle whatever is thrown at them. Because if the tournaments in past years are any example, even if you win and advance, there’s no guarantee which team you’ll be facing in the next round as SCW is known for mixing things up between each round to keep everyone on their toes. And where J2H is concerned, like the man or not, he has proven that more often than not, he can handle just about any challenge or threat that steps in front of his path. He’d have to be able to when you take into consideration the man’s lack of size compared to others on the roster then and now, and how he was always able to adapt to those physical disadvantages to maintain such an impressive win-loss record. Men twice his size and far stronger have fallen to him in defeat, and I have no doubts Kain will be no different.”
She held her hands up in a gesture of platitude.
“No disrespect intended, because Kain is another Hall of Fame entry this year, but Kain also has one distinction to his credit that J2H does not; he is a Grand Slam Champion in SCW. J2H came THIS close…!”
She held together a thumb and forefinger.
“... To accomplishing the same. Kain is a fighter, pure and simple. A striker and a submission specialist who has made bigger and badder men tap out, but J2H?”
She closed her eyes with a smile and shook her head.
“I don’t think you’re going to see J2H tap out again anytime soon - if ever. Kain won’t make it easy, but I have the confidence that J2H can and will keep things in check. Kain is bigger and badder - but let’s face facts! J2H is just plain meaner!”
She tucks her hands into the back pockets of her blue jeans, and turns to the camera, stalling.
“Which brings us to the elephant in the room, and yes that is just a figure of speech and not meant as a dig at my opponent in the slightest. J2H has a disadvantage physically against Kain, and me myself? I have one in the fact that nobody really knows anything about the woman named Eiley. So if they don’t, and there is no video footage of the woman I have to hold off in order for us to advance, what then am I supposed to do? My first thought when I realized the pickle I was in was - ‘uh oh’. Then I simply put some serious thought into where I stood and it hit me; the very theme of the tour is about the unknown. Unsolved Mysteries! Then I thought..”
She nodded knowingly.
“I can work with this. What little information I could gather screamed little hints in what to expect. I mean, stand back from the outside and the answers or at least theories would slap you right in the face. How coincidental that this young woman just so happens to be in Hawaii where everyone’s favorite bleached blonde diva calls home? It sort of makes you think, doesn’t it?”
She frowned, tilting her head a touch to the side.
“How many women in SCW really have called Hawaii home, and wouldn’t it be too delicious if Eiley were to call Mikah a mentor of sorts? Trainees usually take on at least some of the characteristics of their trainers, and considering I’ve faced Mikah twice - and beat her once - I dare say if this theory proves to be accurate, I’ll be well able to hold my own against this young woman and then some! And if my theory is wrong…?”
She shrugged her shoulders.
“No big loss. The simple fact is that I was still able to beat a woman of Mikah’s caliber - and much as I dislike her, I can’t fault her abilities inside of the ring. So face a rookie, and fight like you were competing against someone much more experienced and by far more talented! As far as any potential strengths and weaknesses Eiley might have against me? Well I wouldn’t be the first wrestler to ever have to diagnose someone in the middle of a match! It’s called trial and error and more often than not, relying on your own instincts. I’m confident enough in saying that while my in-ring schedule has been spotty at best ever since I stepped down, I have still spent more time collectively inside of the ring than Eiley has, and that fact right there gives me my own advantage. It wasn’t more than three weeks ago where I stepped back inside of the ring after almost four years to face Jessie Salco, a woman who has been running non-stop in SCW for over a decade! And sugar? It wasn’t Jessie’s arm that got raised at the end of that match!”
She tapped a violet colored nail against her sternum.
“That honor was mine. It told me that I could still do this. It told me that I still had my place amongst the best of the Bombshells, and that fact alone is going to carry me past Eiley. It is going to carry J2H and myself both past the opening round and straight into the Quarter-Finals somewhere in Scotland and beyond!”
She waved her arm wide for emphasis.
“But please do not mistake my confidence fir overlooking what is, for lack of a better term, an unproven commodity to the Bombshell division. The moment I think Eiley is going to be an easy win is the moment I might as well just kiss this whole tournament goodbye! Given her size, she could easily be a striker or a submission specialist. She could be one of those high flyers that takes awful, death defying risks in the belief of ‘anything for the win’! She may even be the sort willing to sink to any and all depths to pull off a win.”
Lip out, she shrugged.
“Or she could be a combination of any of the above or all four. That is the point! I don’t know. You don’t know. But this unsolved mystery is one that I am willing and able to overcome!”
With a soft smile on her face, Devona turned back to resume her little bit of tourism, where everyone else was basking on the luxury beaches. She started to walk back toward the Chase Vault when something gave her pause. She turned back slightly to address the camera.
“Oh, and J2H? I know that this is the last thing that you wanted. Not just entry into this event, but teaming with anyone else but Mikah. Well, here’s the fact sweet pea; I’m not Mikah. I’m better than. I fought Mikah to a standstill in our first match, and in our rematch, I beat her. Pinned her and walked away with the Internet Championship. And no matter how many times she tries to pull her grade school mind games of telling the world “she wanted to lose ,” to explain her loss it doesn’t erase the facts.”
“She lost to me. No other explanations needed.”
“You wanted Mikah. You hoped for Mikah. But baby … you’re stuck with me. And the sooner you can accept that fact, the better off we’ll all be when we make it to London and walk away the 2023 Blast From the Past Champions!”
With one last wink for the camera, Devona took her leave and walked off, vanishing into the crowd of tourists.
