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The Friction Arena.... a site of countless amazing moments inside the wresting ring....

And again, due to her lackluster start Danika was left off the show card. Again. Danika Gorski paced in the back in her high black skirt, black boots that went nearly up to the knee, and purple t-shirt. She watched the action intently, with a hint of envy. No matter, it wouldn't be long before Danika was going to get a chance to show everyone what she was made of. This time, it would be her ending the match in victory after showcasing an amazing set of kicks, jumps and holds!

At least, thats what she continued to tell herself. Her match against Jessica Wright was a trainwreck, as was her second match against Misaki Toyoda..... and her debut against River Styx. Still, Danika clung to hope thinking that in the "what have you done for me lately" world of wrestling she just needed to string together a win or three.

Even when Taylor didn't have an appearance scheduled, she always did her best to be in the building during Friction shows. She could be there to support her girls, represent the dojo, or she could be on hand to crash someone's party if she needed to set them straight, or sometimes she could just provide some encouragement and moral support to some of the younger girls.

It was also a great time to put in a workout, since the gym was particularly empty during shows. She paced down the hallways, hair and skin still damp from the shower, in sneakers and more workout clothes. She had put in a good workout, but was going to go back in to drill some technique after a break to watch some matches.

She wore bright white spandex, small shorts that tied up on the sides and crept slight up her hips, and a sports bra with criss-crossing straps wrapping over her slim, muscular shoulders, over which she wore a loose-fitting blue and pink tank top, cut low on the sides to show her bra, with the stylized kanji-and-heart Higurashi logo running over the edges of the chest. Her hair was still loose while it dried, and she had a couple hair ties waiting on her wrist.

She had her eyes up on the monitor, showing a match between a couple rookies, and slowed to a stop as she approached. She watched for a minute before she noticed the other girl, and it took another minute before she realized who she was.

"Oh, hey," she said, leaning in to give Danika a pat on the shoulder. "What's up, Danika? How ya doin'?"

She was careful not to sound concerned. Wrestlers' pride was a dangerous thing.

Danika jumped a bit and turned quickly not sure of who to expect. Taylor Parker? Danika was surprised to see her at the arena when she didn't have a match.

"Yes, hello." Danika said flatly. Social etiquette wasn't her strong point. "I should be thanking you, yes? For your help when Jessica... ahem.. defeated me and wanted to keep the defeat going."

At this point Danika smiled awkwardly. It wasn't quite nervous, and not quite friendly. She only knew that she didn't fully trust anyone in Friction not named Danika Gorski. "What business is it that brings you here when you don't have a match on this night?"

"It's cool," Taylor shrugged. She didn't want to make a big deal out of beating down Jessica. Whereas the violent violet thought so highly of herself, Taylor didn't. She wouldn't hesitate to beat her down every time she caught her going too far.

She folded her arms over her chest and leaned back against the wall where she could face both Danika and the monitor at once. She propped one foot up against the wall and drew a slow breath to relax herself. Her athletic body felt warm and loose.

"Nothing much, man, I just put in a workout and I'm gonna drill some technique in a little bit. Just taking a break to watch some stuff. I like to be on hand even when I don't have a match, to support my girls or just to be around in case someone starts running their mouth and I need to go shut them up. Or, sometimes, when some bitch needs to be taught a lesson."

Danika looked over at Taylor with her hands down by her sides. "I see. I appreciate it but aren't your efforts spreading you thin?" Danika asked. "Our own energy is like a finite resource yes? To have the best, and longest careers we can we need to try to win each match as efficiently as possible yes?" Danika asked, wondering what Taylor's take on her philosophy was.

She doubted Taylor would see eye to eye with her at all. She was an energetic "go all out all the time" type from what Danika saw. She respected that and knew you did what you had to in order to win. However... when you could conserve, why not conserve?

Taylor cracked a smile and laughed good-naturedly at herself, grabbing her shoulder and pantomiming embarrassment.

"Funny you should say that..." She said. "Kinda my biggest problem right now is exactly that. Doing too much, I mean. I'm working hard to learn to not work so hard!" She laughed again, and sighed. "I'm not sure I want the longest career, but I definitely try to win my matches quick and easy. Just watch a few and you'll see what I mean. Like that one against that Sandalwood chick, I beat her in less than a minute."

"Sandalwood woman? I do not know her but that sound impressive." Danika said with a nod. At least Danika had always lasted longer than that. Under a minute was pretty pathetic. "I came in thinking I could find a way to beat anyone. That hasn't exactly happened yet, but it will. I can't let myself be that one minute wonder now can I?" Danika said, trying her best to sound confident.

Danika then thought more about what Taylor told her. "Do you not enjoy things outside the ring? Maybe focusing on non-wrestling things that cause you to lose track of time would be good?"

"Man, I know the feeling..." Taylor mused with a smile.

The match on the monitor ended, to some mild applause from the crowd. The two rookie girls shook hands afterward, and then made their way up the ramp. It was nice to see girls doing it right for once, even if the crowd wasn't that big. Though, there was still the chance they were headed back to the showers to fuck. Such is AFW.

"Yeah, I'm trying to figure out a balance, and junk. It's tough. I'm not great at sitting still..." She said, and then looked curiously at Danika and raised an eyebrow. "Man, you're way more chill than I woulda thought."

Danika cocked her head a bit. "I am...chill? You think I am cold? Why is this?" Danika smiled. She always thought about what people thought of her, not the she necessarily cared. "I make less noise than many of the women here if that is what you mean."

Danika crossed her arms and leaned back, looking up at the ceiling. "I must say though.. I perhaps underestimated the women here. Thinking I could just kick people around until they fell."

"Ha!" Taylor laughed, and was surprised by how loudly. "Yeah, I guess that's it. I mean you're not a bitch, and that's like, a huge surprise."

She nodded slowly and gazed down at her red running shoes. Her own AFW experience had not started much differently. When she arrived, she was sure she would have no more trouble with her opponents here as she had in Manhattan, where she got her start. She was still a rookie when she came to AFW, but the company quickly stripped her of her naivety, and she learned what it really took to survive in such a queer, brutal place.

"I know what you mean..." She said. "I had a rough start too. You owe it to yourself to turn things around, though. You just have to be smart and work hard. You'll get there. You've got the balls to hang around this long after the girls you've already fought... You'll get there."