Behowl the Moon

Yeah, she knew this wasn’t the best look for her.

Being the one to walk away from a fight was a hardly familiar feeling for Yuki. She was smart enough to know when to go strong and when to play it safe, get a read on her opponent’s strength and try not to play into it. If someone was stronger than her, an inevitably in her lifestyle, she did the obvious and just didn’t play into their hands. Kept her distance and waited for openings. Walking away, though? Turning her back on her opponent? That would be a death sentence anywhere else, outside of this cushy little promotion for horny princesses.

Something that Cicilia clearly was not. Honestly, Yuki didn’t even know what to make of her anymore.

She strode around the corner and got about halfway down the next hall before she stopped and turn on the spot, making sure Cicilia was still tailing her. She wasn’t. Something...else was. It came stalking out of the darkness and didn't even move like a human anymore. Some dark, shambling horror whose red eyes pierced through her body and gazed at her very soul, her beating heart, just longing to seize it the instant she was within reach.

Yuki kept a straight face as she walked backward, keeping a careful eye on Cicilia while making sure she wasn’t walking into a wall. She was pretty sure a mistake like that would end up killing her at this point.

She rounded the next corner and found the double doors on the far end of the hall. The doors that led into the ring, where Manami and the rest of the world were waiting. In the same instant, a wave of both relief and regret washed over her. Relief that she’d managed to find the door in time, regret because of what she knew was about to happen next: she had to get Cicilia through that door. Her mind knew what she had to do for that to happen, but her body was hesitating as she continued her backward walk, those self-preservation instincts kicking.

“Fuuuuuuuuck me.” She muttered to herself as her back tapped against the cold metal door. She closed her eyes for a moment and let out a half-hearted sigh before she opened them again, her lazy pupils watching the red-eyed monster draw ever closer near. The muscular blonde raised her arms out to her sides, beckoning Cicilia forward with a slow wave of her right hand. “Come on. Ain't got all day.”

This was gonna suck.

No, Yuki DIDN'T have all day... and she wouldn't have much longer either. Cicilia rarely lost total control over herself, always some nugget of reason holding rage in check. Maybe a memory or a thought that would keep her restrained... focused in some capacity... But recent events made it hard to uphold the standard she had set for herself... slipping more often than she had been keeping it together... All it took was one more straw of bullshit for the Juggernaut to finally snap, to give the world and all it represented the finger so she could rip apart her target...

What trailed behind Yuki and inevitably trapped her between the door and herself... It was a monster. It was all that pent up anger, frustration and fear Cicilia had to cope with since coming to Japan now controlling her body. The German herself had gone quiet a while ago, not strong enough to keep this all in... Did that make Yuki afraid, what she was now facing down? It should. Anyone with a reasonable sense of self-preservation should've been afraid of the monster that stalked these halls...

Feral...

The staff were smart enough to fuck right off, knowing how suicidal it would be to get between Feral Cicilia and her prey. She had taken so much... She had been hurt so bad by people who would pull this kind of idiotic bullshit... She had been restrained enough to not lash out in kind, to not do anything that would put them on life-support or leave scars on their bodies they'd have to look at everyday.

She tried so hard to be the bigger woman... and now that Yuki had knocked her out... She got to toy with what's left.

The German's angry, heavy gaze fell upon Yuki like an anvil upon the ground, as if pinning her to the floor with a glare. There she was, arms outstretched as if encouraging Cicilia to make a move on her, her confidence an obvious ruse... She caught it as she came around the corner, that deep breath in order to refill her courage... The blonde was afraid of her.... She needed some kind of preparation for what was to come.

There was a perverse pleasure to be taken in that.

Without a word, Cicilia broke into a sprint, faster and faster with surges of adrenaline BLASTING through her! She would rush down Yuki... before lashing out with a MASSIVE boot to the woman's face, aiming to kick her RIGHT through that metal door, CRASHING it open!

People were getting restless. It had been a few minutes since Manami had made her declaration, barely reaching 300 seconds altogether, but it may as well have been an eternity for the procession surrounding her, forced to watch nothing but a half-empty ring and smelling one another’s repugnant stench. Their murmurs steadily grew into a few sporadic boos and yawns meant to mock her, as if they could render

Manami paid them no mind. She stood in the center of the ring with her arms crossed and eyes shut, still as a statue and letting the eons pass her by without an inch of change upon her face. There was no reason to worry. Why would there be? Yuki Kitashima was her most trusted, her hand-chosen, an apex hunter that had been too long without a target. It wasn’t a matter of if she’d bring her quarry to her, but when. Even as the seconds ticked on, Manami’s eyelids remained shut. Soon her challenger would be here, brought before her on a silver platter, and Manami would gaze into those eyes filled with anguish and speak only-

BOOM!

The doors to one of the emergency exits exploded off their supports. The leftmost simply slammed into the wall and teetered on its one good hinge. The right one, however, was sent flying towards the ring before crashed down to the unforgiving concrete and skid with a horrible screech for what seemed like ten feet. Bits of plaster and shrapnel Not far behind it was a muscular blonde, Her back slammed against the floor and slid into a side-to-side tumble before she finally came down on her stomach, just outside the ropes before the Wolf Mother. She gritted her teeth and opened a single eye, looking at Manami past the stage lights. She met the Wolf Girl’s stoic face with a half-hearted grin as she brought herself up to all fours. “Found her...” She grumbled and spat a wad of blood off to the side.

Manami’s eyes drifted from her companion up to the newly-made hole in the wall, peering past the dark to see the Goddess of Destruction shifting in the shadows. Her very aura permeated the arena as the cameras zoomed in on the shaded figure. Most of those watching merely sat with their mouths open, unsure of whether they should clap or run. The whole world went silent, unsure of what storm was to come. For a moment, no one said anything.

Not until Manami smirked. She raised her hand towards the exit, a flood of spotlights bathing the Juggernaut in an instant. “And the monstrosity herself makes her grand appearance!” Manami’s voice beamed with excitement, echoing to the darkest corners of the arena. The audience read the change in atmosphere in an instant, meeting the arriving rookie with a round of applause and hollers. The wolf simply chuckled into her microphone. “Though you certainly enjoy making a mess of things. So brutish. Honestly, what kind of deranged psychopath are you? Attacking my associate for no good reason? Interrupting my public address? Absolutely unforgivable. You should consider yourself fortunate that I'm a bit...starved.” She licked her lips. “Congratulations, Cicilia. Your pathetic excuse for a life has finally found some purpose.” She wagged a finger at the German. “Come. I demand a parley.”

While Manami addressed her future challenger, Yuki made her way off to the side to the corner post - as best as she could, at least. She struggled to stand of her power and was forced to use the side of the ring as a support, hobbling along until she was on the opposite end. Fumika walked right up alongside her a moment after, twirling on the spot and standing shoulder to shoulder with her fellow wolf, beaming smile and hands crossed behind her back.

“Nice entrance.”

“Fuck yourself.”

It was only when Cicilia SMASHED OPEN the door to the arena did she come back into reality and see where she had been lead. The boxer blinked, wincing as the spotlights of the arena fell upon her as heavy as boulders, burning away the shadows that coagulated around her burning anger... Or perhaps it was the surprise that she had been lured here... before a horrified and confuse audience she was brought, the Juggernaut seemingly just as off-put by her appearance here as those in the stands!

...But there was one who was not...

Cicilia's predatory gaze fell over the ring, as the woman standing in the center so casually berated the German for her behavior, as smug as the wolf who had eaten the grandmother. It mattered not that the crowd cheered for her, apparently under the impression that this was all part of the show... The boxer's eyes only hardened, steeled as she recognized the woman in the center as the ring-master... the one who had set all this up... She wore the same outfit as the woman she had just beating the living god out of, after all and looked no more surprised than the average spider when a fly flutters into it's web. The boxer's fingers curled so tightly into fists at the woman's laughable accusation's, her nails began to dig into her flesh, drawing the tiniest bit of blood from her palms...

...AND OH LOOK! She knew her name. Go fucking figure, another smug idiot trying to...

"Oh, Fuck this." Cicilia huffed, forcing herself to swallow her anger, letting it disperse for once... clear her head. And, like that, the aura that had burned around her... disappeared, leaving a calm, indifferent Cicilia to face the idiot who called upon her, finger-wagging like a master would to a dog. She had nothing but disdain for this woman... but her anger had disappeared for once... leaving nothing but cold, hard apathy in it's place.

...And of course, Cicilia would come... if only to grab that mic from her. She would walk down the ramp as casually as she pleased, hopping up into the ring beside Manami... but wary if she decided to be a cheap bitch and attack her while she rose.

"...Parley? That's hilarious." She spoke, her voice monotone, sharp and ironic. "I'm sure the back-stage footage will show who struck first... unless you tampered with that too. Wouldn't put it above people like you." The boxer only sighed and shook her head, crossing her arms as her eyes flicked from the microphone to the woman before her, her lids narrowing suspiciously. "What could we possibly have to talk about?" The German continued, wiping away the blood trailing down her forehead. "I don't suppose it's to ask me for a fight..." She flicked a blood-drop towards Manami's face, aiming to strike her right below her eye with it in a clear case of utter disrespect. Cicilia... did not... respect COWARDS!

"...Because if that's what you want from me... you can go die in a hole." Did she really think the German would give her ANYTHING she wanted now...? Did she want the boxer to rip her apart? She would only get the fantasies of such... Did she want Cicilia to rage for her amusement...? She would resist the temptation and look on with cold apathy... Her hatred was such that she realized... it could cut like a blade just as well as it could crush like a maul.

Manami believed she had something of a baseline to work from when it came to understanding the Juggernaut. She hadn’t had the pleasure of sitting in on any of her matches. She mostly had recordings and whatever hearsay she could scrounge up to work from. Rumors and experiences that all jumbled together as most things did with any figure of interest in this promotion. And if Manami were being completely honest with herself, she didn’t believe most of it.

She’d picked up all kinds of rumors and discussion in her time leading up to taking the title, perusing for candidates, enough to separate the wheat from the chaff, the strong from the weak, the truth from the myth. Cicilia had a temper on her. That was immediately evident from anyone who bothered to take even a remote glance at any given picture of her at any given moment in time.

But what they were describing wasn’t just someone with a bad temper, a brooding misery guts, a loner with a bit of punch to her frame. They were describing savagery. She’d taken on the viscous lepus and that mad clown one after another….and lost, but given how the other two had come out, they were “losses” in the most transparent sense of the word. There was more than strength here, more than experience, more than instincts. They suggested something more, as if there were a monster living inside of that body.

Oh yes, Manami was a skeptic. But no longer. When Cicilia stepped into the ring to greet her, the Wolf Girl had nothing but a tightly-sealed smile across her face, stretching from ear-to-ear. “I have no idea what you mean.” Oh, she must have thought she was so clever. It was amusing, really. When people spoke as if they had some control over their own fate. She couldn’t help but simply smile back as the German made her accusations, mocked her with that obscene gesture.  Manami flicked her tongue at the blood on her cheek. How did that old saying go? Cowardly dogs bark the loudest?

Manami snickered, shaking her head slightly as she laughed to herself. “You’re not a particularly bright girl, are you? If you intended to leave...” She snapped her fingers. “...you should have never stepped through that door.”

To Cicilia’s left, Fumika stepped into the ring between the middle and top rope. Her eyes remained cast to the floor for a moment before she lifted one leg into the air and fired off a couple of snap kicks to the side. Her gaze then shifted to the juggernaut, smiling warmly and raising a hand to give a frilly wave. To the German’s right, Yuki slid in from underneath the bottom rope. She slowly stood upright, facing the boxer with a dark glare before punching one hand into her palm, cracking her neck with one crank to the side, then another.

The Wolf Girl placed a hand on her hip, strolling casually before Cicilia. “By all means, you should consider yourself lucky. I’ve been something of an...admirer, let’s call it, of your performance. This federation...it's so rife with the undeserving, the doomed to nature, prolonging their pointless existences in this hive of waste and hedonistic desires. But you...” Her pacing stopped as she faced Cicilia, taking in her stoic gaze for a precious moment. “The strong carve their own path. You see this, understand this, embody this. You stand above the refuse, whether you realize it or not, and I intend to make an example out of that.”

She slowly began to walk towards the raven-haired girl, taking the belt from her shoulder and raising it high to the stage lights and the camera flashes reflecting off its surface. “This is the Entropy title, Cicilia. That means you’re free to choose the terms for our match. You decide the rule, set the stage, and I’ll accept them.” She stopped in front of Cicilia, gazing into those sanguine eyes, lusting in the hate lingering behind them. “I’m not asking you for a match. You’re giving me one…” She brought the mic down from her lips and leaned in, enough to taste her breath on her tongue. “...or I’ll pin you down and break your fingers. Then you’ll be an ex-pugilist.”

She winked and pulled away, bringing the microphone back up between them. “Sound fun?”

That fucking ear-to-ear smile... What a tempting invitation to rip her face off right here and now. Even though Cicilia tried her best to remain apathetic to this idiot... she found that the embers of her rage, those she tried to surprise, fought her to ignite! The temptation to tear this supposed "Champion" apart was strong to say the least... and it only got stronger the more this woman opened her mouth! Denying responsibility, huh...? What kind of reputation did this woman expect to protect...? It was obvious from the look on her face she knew EXACTLY what Cicilia was talking about... Probably was just denying it to piss her off... and it was working like a charm. She was right about one thing, though... If Cicilia really didn't have a bone to pick with this woman, if she REALLY didn't want to pound her head into the nearest turnbuckle until she fell into a coma... She wouldn't have walked through that door. As much as she wanted to back-talk her, say she only came out her to stick it to her... They both knew that was a lie. Cicilia wasn't stupid... but she wasn't a good liar either.

Even if Cicilia wanted to leave now... there were two problems both to her left and right. One had a cheerful butterfly smile that the boxer couldn't tell if it were genuine... The other was the woman she just kicked through the door, her face reading that she wanted Cicilia to walk out... so she could have more alone-time back stage... Like it or not, Cicilia was standing here, not because she wanted too (though she did...) but because the wolf-queen desired it...

Cicilia always wondered how people this FUCKED got into positions like this... and why so many came after her. First her family... then Margaux... then JUNO and now this heap of trash... Exasperated wasn't a strong enough word... but it was the only one she had to express how she felt about her fucking life right now. Her sanguine eyes burned angrily as the woman before her strolled around the ring, completely safe and content...

Arrogant bitch... Cicilia hissed in her head, the words very nearly escaping her lips. I'll rip your belt in two...

Oh. WONDERFUL! More crazy fans and this one could actually act on her perverse desires! Cicilia couldn't help but growl, confirming Manami's suspicion of the monster inside. Again, the brain-dead dog was right about one thing... This place was full of the undeserving... rotten to the core with this crazy, psychotic torturers playing dress-up as fighters... It made her sick how they saw the same problem... and had completely different solutions.

Apparently, Manami saw fit to COMPLIMENT her now after everything she's done, stating how she was strong, how she carved her own path, how she stood above the rest of the "refuse"... and decided to make an example out of her.

"Heh..." Cicilia scoffed. SUCH ARROGANCE! What... she won the championship and now she thought she was above challenge? What an ego! Man... She couldn't wait until they got to the meat of why they were here so Cicilia could POP her ego inflated little ego like a balloon! Cicilia's fingers were twitching with anticipation... her gaze egging on the prideful mutt as she strutted about, holding up her prize as if it meant anything to Cicilia. Belts only mattered to her if the person that held them was either worthy of holding it... or she had an interest in taking it. Entropy could go fuck itself for all she cared... At this point, she didn't care if she became champion... all she wanted to do was beat this idiot so senseless, she wouldn't be able to tell red from blue!... And if that came with a belt...? They could find another champion. After all... what good were they if they let scum like this hold it?

Cicilia wouldn't have to wait long to get down to what really mattered here, all this posturing finally coming to an end. Manami informed the German of the rules, letting her know that Cicilia could pick the rules as challenger. Oh...? So if she wanted to have this woman stand in the ring, tied to a turnbuckle with the only winning condition being her BEGGING Cicilia not to bust in her face... she could...? Ah, a fantasy for another time. She might've been mad... but she wouldn't sink to such a level... She would, however, take away some of the rules so their fight could be uninhibited.

WELL! It seemed like Cicilia spoke too soon about posturing, Manami leaning in and threatening Cicilia with permanent finger-trauma and an end to her boxing career if she didn't accept! Cicilia only smiled innocently as the champion leaned in, the mic away from both of their faces.

"...You smell like wet dogs..." She whispered almost sweetly... "I recommend mouth-wash..." With that utterly meaningless exchange out of the way, the wolf would ask if this arrangement sounded "FUN", winking her way as if to mock the German with a facade of goodness... Or maybe with a knowing look... Either way, Cicilia would just laugh and shake her head, her giggles cruel and sharp... cutting into the ears of those that heard it.

"I'm going to kick your ass." Cicilia promised, her smile falling away to a burning, angry snarl. "Hardcore wrestling. Losing conditions: submission, pin, or knockout." It would've been easy to threaten her with something equally gruesome...

I'll break your arms and legs... or, perhaps I'll permanently break your jaw so you can't speak clearly again... Both things Cicilia was EASILY strong enough to do... But she was the bigger woman... She HAD to be... Manami was right that Cicilia stood above the rest of the refuse... like this corpse-fed dog standing before her....

How did Manami find herself into this position? Oh. Right. She took it.

Isn’t that a curious motif to be found across this promotion? She wondered, did anyone really stop and pondered why her ilk assumed such radical stances, how they gained such insurmountable power? Was this really a case of lunatics running the asylum...or was this just how things should be? Are you, in fact, what’s wrong, Cicilia?

Maybe your just asking the wrong questions, little hare.

There was little doubt lingering within Manami’s mind as to how Cicilia would react either way.  She was human, after all. Everyone had their ticks, every beast their weaknesses. Some were just better at hiding them than others. She’d seen the likes of the German girl come and go time and time again in the underground, the stoic outcasts with little place in a proper society. She was glad her assumptions weren’t wrong. A creature of instinct to the end. She could taste it on her.

Manami could only smile back at the juggernaut’s quip. There was little to be upset about with such a view in front of her. The fire in her eyes, the strength smoldering in the aura that permeated the air around her. Oh yes, her nose never steered her wrong. She breathed in another waft of the air, taking in the scent between them, closing her eyes to savor the sensation within her nostrils.

You smell like death. And I wouldn’t change an inch of it.

Her eyes opened, revealing a red-eyed gaze between her slits. A pleased smile grew on her lips. She reached a hand out between the two of them, but the manner in which she did it felt more imitated than genuine. “I knew you wouldn't disappoint...somebody, at least.” Her smile twitched and stretched ominously at the corners. Something was trying to break out of it. A laugh, perhaps? A morsel of humanity that she forgot to digest? Who knows. What came out instead was…

“May the best woman win?”

...quite unlike her.

What a creep... It would be her pleasure to beat some humility into the wolf-queen's face! Cicilia turned to leave, flipping off the Entropy  champion over her shoulder as she made some off-hand comment... stopping only when she caught... a surprising gesture of good faith. The Juggernaut looked back, spotting the hand of sportsmanship offered to her as Manami only wished the best between them to come out on top...

...Did this bitch just wish her luck...?

She couldn't tell if the champion was trying to manipulate her or what, trying to get her opinion about her to change. She stared at the hand, contemplating it's nature, her thoughts constantly flicking back to the promise of her fingers being broken... There was no "What if"s about this... no doubts that the wolf-queen was a shitty person... but that didn't mean Cicilia had to be... She often liked to act like a mirror for the idiots that attacked her, reflecting and increasing the intensity of their bullshit until it overwhelmed and CRUSHED them. Nothing was more satisfying than being a force of utter Karma.

...However, she couldn't justify it here... Not rightly. She didn't want to wake up one night, wondering if this handshake was genuine or not, if this whole thing was some kind of elaborate facade to maintain her image. Cicilia had TOO MUCH to worry about in her life without some kind of moral crises sputtering around her head like an annoying fly that refused to be swatted!

And so... against Cicilia's better logical judgement, she extended a hand and took the one offered by Manami, Her hard, angry expression never changing. She knew not the nature of this... but she wouldn't bother caring either. She had a girlfriend to go home to... to inform that she'd be away from home for a while.

The Juggernaut opened her mouth, as if to say something, to retort with some passive-aggressive barb... but then her jaw clenched, biting her tongue before she could dig herself into a hole...

Shut up, Cicilia... Her inner voice commanded, smacking(metaphorically) the back of her head.  You know you're the better woman... You don't have to get mad... Grow up for once and SHUT UP!

"...Yeah." She agreed stoically before turning back to return from whence she came. She couldn't stop herself from muttering things, though... like how she had to justify coming home beaten up again...