Bannockburn

“Hmm…well, my hairâ€s been white as long as I can remember,” Odessa would reply, brushing at her bangs with one hand. “But maybe our paths crossed at some point in the past anyway. Regardless, it is truly a pleasure to meet you right now.” She smiled back at the Scottish woman.

The waitress came back around with the beers that Emily and Risako had ordered. Odessa chuckled as she watched the two of them drinking, letting the conversation be put on hold for a minute as they enjoyed their beverages. She would take another gulp of her own English beer, and then order another from the waitress before she walked away. She then turned back to Emily. “How long have I been with AFW? I signed my contract, oh, a little less than a year ago. Iâ€ve had a fair number of matches in that time. I just got back from the United States, actually—I had a match with Cecilia Northman at Summer Splash.”

She grinned and took another swig of her own beer, polishing off the pint. “Oh, now that was superb,” Odessa sighed contentedly, putting the glass down with a thump on the table. “It truly is a pleasure to find another Briton here. I canâ€t say Iâ€ve met any others before I met you. And isnâ€t it ironic that we met here?” She waved an arm around at the British-themed pub. “Itâ€s a charming little place. A little reliant on stereotypes, but very charming.”

Emily's eyes widened at the mention of the Northern Queen. "You fought Cecilia?" she asked, remembering the two defeats that the powerful Swede had given her. "It's a small world after all. How'd you do against her, if I might ask?" She had a healthy respect for...and was slightly intimidated by...Cecilia, and was curious to see how this ebony titaness had fared against one of her own toughest opponents.

Odessa's further comments, though, made the Scotswoman chuckle. "Ironic indeed. This place isn't exactly big reminder of home, but it has its virtues." She took another swig of her own beer. Though she didn't even realize it, her soft-spoken, aristocratic accent was slipping the more she drank, giving way instead to a much harder Scottish accent. "If it were down to me, though, I would ae put up a few pictures of Stirling Castle or Ben Nevis next to th' White Cliffs an' all, an' maybe added some proper Scotch pies to th' menu. Our lovely wee United Kingdom is more than just England, after all."

Risako piped up. "Oh, maybe you could also put those waitresses in tartan kilts instead of the Queen's Guard outfits?" she offered. "Because that would be absolutely adorable!"

Emily frowned at her fellow Wrestle Angel. "Risako, lass, ye're missing the point..."

Odessa grinned. Emily had heard of Cecilia, evidently. She had met the Northern Queen, in fact, and fought her on a couple of occasions. It was a small world, indeed. “I dueled with Cecilia on a couple of occasions. The first fight ended in a draw. Our Summer Splash match…well, honestly, I donâ€t really consider it a complete victory. I did win, but it was so closely contested that Cecilia could have just as easily bested me. I have an incredible respect for her. I have a feeling that next time we meet, I might not fare too well…but I certainly wonâ€t go down without a hell of a fight.”

Odessa would sit back and, without a second pint to sip at, she would simply look at Emily and nod slowly as the Scottish woman described the changes she would make to the pubâ€s dÃcor. Odessa thought some of them were probably warranted, though her English pride prevented her from agreeing with Emily entirely. “I suppose that adding a picture or two would be appropriate. The Scotch pies—well, I personally donâ€t find them very appetizing at all.” She laughed, then, addressing Risakoâ€s suggestion: “And I do believe that that would be steering a little too far in the opposite direction, darling. I think the waitresses are perfectly adorable just the way they are now.”

Her next beer would come then, along with her plate of fish and chips. Odessa grinned and clapped her hands, thanking the waitress warmly. She took another long sip of the Samuel Smithâ€s. “Mmmmm. That hits the spot.”

As if on cue, just as Odessa's order of fish and chips arrived, so did Emily and Risako's. Taking one look at the platter, Risako smiled, grabbed the tray, and, before Emily could say a word, moved to sit next to Odessa. "If you don't mind, of course," she said, "but I think this is better than us talking across the aisle at each other."

With a shrug, Emily moved up to join her friend, taking her drink with her. "Aye, Cecilia's a hard one, I should know," she agreed. "I've yet to beat her meself, and lordy I've tried." She took another sip of her ale, and frowned at Odessa. "Wha...don't...like Scotch pies?" She stared long and hard at Odessa, before shrugging. "Well, tae each their own, I suppose. I could ne'er stand fer Yorkshire pudding meself."

"This conversation just makes me want to try the entire menu now," Risako said with a grin as she munched down a few chips.

Odessa certainly didnâ€t mind having the two wrestlers join her at her table. Truth be told, she was very grateful to have the company. She had intended this to be a day off, a day to herself to rest and recharge, but as the day had gone on she had found herself feeling increasingly lonely. Now, those feelings were disappearing. “Oh, yes, come and sit, come and sit,” she invited, patting the tabletop beside her. “Youâ€re more than welcome, you two.”

She took another sip of her beer as she glanced down at her fish and chips, waiting for the cooked marine life to cool. “Cecilia is one of the legends of AFW. I was humbled to meet her, and incredibly honored to actually defeat her in our second encounter. Sheâ€s…quite the wildcat outside of the ring, as well.” Odessa grinned slyly, before returning to the topic of British food.

“Now, I suppose I shouldnâ€t say that I hate Scotch pies…but thereâ€s just something about them that isnâ€t as appetizing as, say, an English meat-and-potatoes pie, or a Cornish pasty. I suppose that the Scotch pies just have a…much more blunt, simplistic flavor compared to the more sophisticated flavor of the pasty. The texture isnâ€t quite my cup of tea, either.” She shrugged, picked up a chip, and bit off half of it, swallowing before continuing: “Now, how you could have anything against Yorkshire pudding I wonâ€t pretend to understand.” She laughed, then finished off the chip.

Emily's eyes narrowed as Odessa described one of her favourite...well, alright, second favourite....foods. "Blunt an' simplistic?" she echoed. "Oh, aye, if it's been prepared and cooked by a right dunce, a meat pie can be a bowfing mess. But if ets cooked right, a proper Scots meat pie is heav'n on a plate. The meat an' the crust just compliment each other so well, its lights a hearty fire in your guts."

She took another sip of her ale. "As for Cornish pasties, I can't argue wi' you there. I love those things. Though English meat and potatoe pies..." She waved her hand. "I dunno, I always thought they always tasted so...bland and sparse compared to Scots pies. It's as though they're all crust and no filling."

Risako raised a hand. "Wait...if you think so little of English food, what did you eat while you were in London?" she asked.

Emily stared at her for a few seconds, then shrugged. "Fish and chips, and curry. And a few posh restaurants here and there." She took a handful of chips and munched on them. "Though honestly, I wasn't there long enough."

“Well, then, perhaps Iâ€ve just never had a Scotch pie prepared by a proper Scottish chef,” Odessa would reply, as she took another sip of the Samuel Smithâ€s that she had been nursing for the last several minutes. The pint was almost empty, and Odessa was considering whether or not she should order another refill. “Still, though—donâ€t you think itâ€s a little heavy on the pepper? While Iâ€m not going to tell you that seasoning is unimportant, putting so much on that it drowns out the flavor of the meat itself is wholly improper. I would argue that the reason you find English pies bland is because your taste buds have been worn out by over-seasoning. And you can scarcely argue that the crust is not just as important as the filling when it comes to a pie.”

Odessa would shrug and pick up a few more chips, munching on them contentedly as she would listen to the brief back and forth between Risako and Emily. “Well, even though the rest of your tastes are questionable, I can certainly agree with you that fish and chips are delicious. They were as much a staple of my childhood diet as bread and butter.” She played with a chip between her fingers, pointing it at Emily and smiling before tossing it into her mouth, chewing, and swallowing.

After that, Odessa would grab the bottle of malt vinegar that was sitting in the middle of the table and pour it out into the corner of her plate, subsequently dunking a piece of fish in it with her fork before popping it happily into her mouth.

"Eh?" Emily stared in surprise at Odessa. "Over-seasoned? There's nae over-seasoned about actually using seasoning, luv. Plus, a firm crust is all well an' nice, but I prefer actually being able to taste the meat past all of it."

Leaning back, Emily took a bite of fish before washing it down with some ale. "Ah, listen tae us, arguing over food when we're thousands of miles away from the Isles. It's times like these I miss home."

Risako raised an eyebrow. "All of the Isles? Or just Scotland?"

"Oh, all of them-- England, for all of its many flaws, is still a bonnie place tae live." She gave both ladies a conspiratorial grin. "O' course, if England is the heart o' the United Kingdom, than Scotland is its charm, personality and brains."

“Thereâ€s a difference between seasoning and over-seasoning, darling, and I have to say that your Scotch pies danced across that line quite a while ago,” Odessa would reply. “And you act as if the crust is an impediment. It is the canvas upon which the art, as embodied by the filling, is painted. A flimsy canvas, like a normal piece of paper, will never contain a true work of art. You need a firm, delicious crust to truly make your pie delicious.”

She took another swig of alcohol, and then another bite of fish, before following that down with more alcohol. She chuckled and tipped her glass to Emily. “I couldnâ€t agree more, my dear.”

She kept on eating as Risako interjected again, and Emilyâ€s response to her friend would get a little bit of a rise out of Odessa once again. “Well, I donâ€t know about all of that—London is clearly the center of business, culture, and politics in the U.K., and even in Europe as a whole—but Scotland is a charming little place. Itâ€s very rustic and quaint. Weâ€re more than happy to share our island with you Scots.” She chuckled again and finished off her first large piece of fish before cutting into the second.

Emily raised an eyebrow at Odessa. "Oh, I know all about culinary refinery as well, Odessa dear." she said, "My background is every bit as noble-born as yours might be, so I know exactly what ye're talking about. But there's a difference between something that has a firm crust, and is mostly crust. When I want tae eat something, I dinnae want to be tasting nowt but flaked batter with a little bit of sommat else-- I want to taste the filling, which is the whole reason for the pie's existence. And while a firm crust is nice, there is nothing like a warm, hearty filling o' beef, carrots and onions to make the meal. And that, Odessa dear, is why Scotch meat pies get it right."

As she took a few chips, she chuckled at Odessa's retort. "OUR island, ye mean. Ask any historian, Scots were on the isles first. We just never settled in England because it rains so bloody much down there."

Risako chuckled. "Wouldn't want to get your kilts wet, right?"

Emily's response was heralded by an annoyed glare. "THAT is no laughing matter, Risako, believe me."