Hi-gu Do-jo!

Julia whistled a little tune as she waited for Alaina, stopping as soon as she came running back out. “No problem!” she said with a bright smile as they headed out. She then looked at Alaina and listened to her question while they walked together.

“Well, I was actually doing the same stuff I’m doing over here.” she replied with a chuckle. “Parents started up a wrestling promotion back in the states decades ago, and me, my brother and sister were all raised through it.” she explained.

“Guess someone here must’ve seen and liked what I was doin’, cause they offered me a contract, and here I am. What about you?” Julia asked, also curious about how Alaina got her start here in the AFW.

Alaina listened intently as Julia spoke, nodding along. It made sense that she grew up around wrestling. As far as Alaina could tell she moved fluidly around the ring as if she was in fact born in one. Alaina must have looked like a clumsy child to Julia.

"I actually went right into nursing school once I graduated, and was a nurse. In mid-2013 I saw a local promotion back in San Diego put on a show and I was hooked. An old friend I used to know was in it, and I spent about a year wrestling part time until AFW offered both of us contracts. He is over in Tension, goofy little high flier named Charlie Haines. But, I have been here for about a year wrestling." Alaina said before laughing nervously. "I am the old new person. I turn 26 soon and I've been off to an.... interesting start so far in Friction."

Alaina shrugged, knowing that her record wasn't the best. But it also wasn't the worst! She also was going to improve on it and show everyone her potential, of that she was sure. "How've things gone for you so far over here?"

Julia’s expression did nothing to hide her surprise when Alaina spoke. “Really? A nurse? Wow, that’s a slight little career change ya made, isn’t it?” she said with a giggle. It seemed almost ironic that Alaina went from learning how to heal injuries, to learning how to inflict pain in the ring. A very interesting contrast, to say the least.

She certainly understood what Alaina meant when she talked about being hooked from the first show she’d seen. Julia had been the same way, which made things much easier for her when she was more or less thrown into training for it. “So you know a guy in Tension too, huh? I’ve got a boyfriend over there. He’s actually the guy I made my AFW debut against.” Julia said, her cheeks briefly turning a light shade of red as she thought about him. Alaina’s mention of her age then drew a slight chuckle from Julia. “Well, you’re only one year older than me then, so I guess that makes us both ‘old newbies.’” she said.

“I’ve got a pretty good start here. I’ve won my first few matches, anyway. Not sure how long that’ll keep up, but I’m sure training at the dojo will be a huge step in getting me where I wanna be in this company someday.”

"Yeah, you aren't kidding! I loved and hated nursing all at the same time. I liked sports so I decided to go all in with this." Alaina said after hearing Julias reaction to her old career. It was a common reaction, as nursing to wrestling was a hell of a jump.

Alaina perked up a bit when Julia mentioned a boyfriend. "Oh yeah? Charlie is just a friend and he is totally into his girlfriend Talia. He has been bugging me to help him shop for something for her. He is a goofy little guy but...." Alaina trailed off as she thought of her own failed relationship with Mamouru. She also realized all the traits of a good guy, a keeper were in Charlie. She had a good tbing right in front of her and failed to see it. "...Talia is a lucky lady."

The conversation shifted back to wrestling, and while Alaina hadn't had much in the way of success at first but she still smiled as Julia described her good start. "Thats awesome! I know you will keep it going especially working with Taylor. I have a ton of work I need to do...."

“Well, I’m glad you did! It was much more fun meetin’ ya in the dojo than it would’ve been in a hospital room.” Julia replied with a chuckle, before listening intently as Alaina talked about Charlie and his girlfriend. She then noticed the woman’s voice trail off, as if something was on her mind, though for now she decided it’d be best not to pry into it.

“Thanks. I’ll definitely give it my best shot, anyway.” she said. “We all always have to keep improving. That’s why we both came to the dojo in the first place, right?” she said with a friendly smile as Alaina mentioned having work she needed to do. “And from what I hear, there’s no better place to do it. Whatever ya gotta get done, I’m sure you’ll get there.”

"Haha thanks! I have a match for the entropy title coming.... I will be ready though! The champ cheated her way into the title but her help is barred from ringside so there's no way I can lose!" Alaina said with confidence. She was hungry for that belt.

"Have you ever dealt with Kelly Conway and her lackies before? They are a bad bunch. Like seriously twisted and evil to the core." Alaina said cautiously. She wasn't sure if Julia dealt with women like that before. Given her background in wrestling though, Julia likely dealt with their kind before. Alaina could probably pick up good pointers, as she found that Conway crew to be annoying, but a devastating force.

“The entropy title? Nice!” Julia said with a bright smile, giving Alaina a little congratulatory punch on the shoulder. “That’s the spirit! I’m sure you’ll kick her ass! Then we can all have a big party to celebrate or somethin’.” she said. She could see the fire that lit up in Alaina’s eyes when she talked about the match, and knew full well just how much she wanted to go get that title.

“Haven’t met ‘em yet, but yeah, I know the type.” she replied when Alaina talked about Kelly. “The kind that specialize more in referee distraction than technical wrestling, right?” Julia had dealt with people like that on more than a few occasions, though she doubted any of those people could best someone like Kelly, cheating or not. “Staying focused in matches with people like that’s a real bitch. But the second you take your eyes off ‘em, suddenly the ref’s looking the wrong way while you’re eating chair shot right to the face, and the next thing you know they’re standin’ over you gettin’ their hand raised.”

Alaina chuckled as Julia talked about a party. "I think that'd be fun, but its not the Friction Championship its kinda like the little sister of the main title belt ya know?" Alaina said with a shrug. "I have never actually won any kind of title before. If I do walk away as champ I might just quietly sneak back to the gym to get ready for my first title defense or something." Alaina said with a shrug.

Alaina nodded as Julia spoke about heels in total agreement with everything Julia said. Worrying about heels sucked and made staying focused a very difficult task. "Losing is bad enough, but losing because of some underhanded tactic always bothers me that much more after the match."

“Ah come on! Even if it’s not the main belt, winning a title’s an event worth celebratin’. You’ll have plenty of time to worry about training and preparing for title defenses, but ya gotta find some time to live a bit too, ya know?” she said, not that she entirely disagreed with Alaina. In fact, she respected the hell out of people with that kind of work ethic.

“I know what you mean.” Julia said regarding people who like using every underhanded tactic in the book to pick up victories. “Ain’t a whole lot of things that sting more than putting all your hard work into training for a match, outwrestling your opponent, then watching their hand get raised in the end because they managed to cheat without gettin’ caught.” She’d had her fair share of that back in the states, and she expected sooner or later the same sort of thing would happen to her here too. Still, that knowledge wouldn’t make it suck any less if and when it happened.

Alaina really liked Julia. She seemed much more grounded than most of her Friction and Tension counterparts. "You sound pretty close to your family. Do ya ever find that you miss them sometimes?" Alaina asked. She herself missed her parents a ton. She worried about how well her dad was doing even though she called, texted, emailed or made some attempt to contact her family every day.

Alaina continued the walk, just enjoying the company of someone else who.... well, just seemed a lot like her! "Wrestling is a strange animal and even though there are a bunch of ups and downs I find that I like it anyway ya know? For me its when the crowd is backing you and basking in the energy they kinda give off thats unbeatable. Whats the kicker for you?" Alaina asked, curious as to what Julia had to say about that. Alaina never thought her love of the crowds cheers would go away, but Julia was more experienced and perhaps offered a different perspective?