Killer Instinct

As much as Blossom needed the proper motivation to get herself focused, the elevated stakes were just what D.B. needed too. Ever since being pretty much laid out by the current AFW champion, that calculated yet wholly rampaging persona of hers had felt like it was buried. Deep down, underneath constantly replaying memories of that match and her own inner turmoil from actually having met her equal in the ring.

Resurrecting that dormant side of herself had now taken just as much priority in this spar as teaching Blossom how to overcome her own mental blockage. D.B. needed to turn the ignition back on and fuel that competitive spirit of hers right than and there if she was going to ever rebuild herself to have one more crack at that blond-haired powerhouse. D.B. knew Blossom could effectively handle what the bunny girl was now going to be throwing at her considering this was hardly their first tussle, so she felt little reason to be holding back anymore.

D.B. steeled herself into the charging lock-up that got her a few feet of motion backwards before Blossom put an effective halt to it. As strong as Blossom was, she knew that getting too comfortable while within striking distance of D.B. was quite the gamble. Hence why she wisely ducked under and behind the less swift bunny girl.

"Tch..." D.B. slightly anticipated that Blossom would fall back to her over-powering grappling once more, so when one of her arms wrapped around the bunny girls waist, D.B. would clasp it by the wrist before turning in place to now be facing her flowery lover. While tugging Blossom forward seemed like an average Irish Whip attempt, D.B.'s clenched fist and reared back free arm would indicate that she was actually intending to mow down Blossom with a booming clothesline before she ever reached the ropes. That is if she wasn't swift enough to dodge, or smart enough to see it coming.

The amount of raw power D.B. had unleashed on poor Blossom had taken even D.B. herself by surprise, the grim bunny girl taking a stumbling foot forward before righting herself back up once more. It could have been due to her genuine weariness from throwing down with Cecilia that she lost her footing like that, but thankfully her own stubborn resolve and veteran instincts had her regain her balance quickly enough to hopefully not be noticed. The last thing she wanted to do was have Blossom seeing her in a state of vulnerability...of weakness. D.B. knew that Blossom always had this...exalted, flawless, fan-girl perception of her. One repercussion of her loss to Cecilia that ate away at D.B.'s mind was that Blossom would actually think less of her...and taint that imagery.

Thoughts for another time.

D.B. turned back to approach the languishing Blossom, who was clearly winded and struggling to right herself after having nearly been clotheslined out of her wrestling boots. D.B. had a mixed reaction at best. A small sense of accomplishment from performing her clothesline reversal effectively, and inherit guilt from bull-rushing her most intimate of lovers back down to the canvas. It was a strange business...wrestling was. But D.B. steeled herself, and pressed onward.

After bending down to slide her arms under Blossom's own limbs and interlock her fingers against the back of her neck, it would take one heaving effort to haul the flowery grappler back to her feet. Only with a firmly cinched in full nelson to keep Blossom locked down with her dangling arms in the air. An aggressive twist to the left and right would help wear her down before D.B. eventually settled for just shifting her towering weight down over her. Her soft chest ballooning against Blossom's back as a result, as was the whispered words uttered into Blossom's ear from how heatedly close they were...

"You're better than this...I know you are."

Straight up, no frills, positive reinforcement. It was probably the coaching methodology no one would have expected D.B. to ever fall back on. And it was definitely the coaching tool she had been using the least of up until this point. But now that everything was put on the line with some fairly high stakes, D.B. knew that Blossom would be going full gear for the rest of the match. Testing her own limitations. And when you hit that wall, all it can take is a few words of encouragement to have your pupil find out that they have reserves of energy they never even knew they had.

And Blossom was definitely going to need to dig deep if she was had any hope whatsoever of escaping this firmly cinched in Full Nelson hold. D.B.'s brief rag-dolling of Blossom intending to leave her too rattled and disoriented to formulate a plan of escape. Luckily for her, Blossom still scrambled together a plan and ended up being limber enough to have her contort her arms at just the right angle and seamlessly slip right out of D.B.'s clutches in a way even she didn't predict. Nor did D.B. predict being brought down to Blossom's level with the sudden headlock.

"Mnngh..." D.B. grumbled from the stifling constriction that had her mumbling chin tightly situated on her petite shoulder. The bunny girl reacting with a sense of overpowering urgency by grabbing Blossom by the hips and hoisting her up in the air. All before simply attempting to shove her flowery lover forward in mid-air and hopefully have her relinquish the headlock in the process.

Coaching your opponent in the middle of the match always tended to leave you in this rather conflicting position. On the one hand, D.B. was pleased to see that her encouraging tutelage had the desired effect of having Blossom rally back up and use her strengths to her advantage to escape the hold. On the other hand, she was now tasked with finding a way to escape the same maneuver she had been trying to bring out of her pupil...

Which was frustratingly easier said than done, Blossom securely cinching in the shoulder headlock with just about as much unnatural strength that her flowery lover was known to have. D.B. would absolutely admit to perhaps acting rashly by attempting to brute force her way out and simply chuck Blossom off of her, but considering the myriad of ways that this position could end up badly for her, D.B. figured that it was worth the risk.

Though with a dramatic heave upward, all D.B. would get for her troubles was Blossom reaffirming her tightened cravat hold and seamlessly using the forward momentum to pitch D.B. over head. The darkly bunny girl offering a startled yelp before harshly landing in a seated position with a *thump*, her legs spread out while she winced from the brief pain in her backside and from being genuinely disoriented from whatever the heck just happened.

D.B. remained propped up on her backside while still suffering from the brief dizzy spell that came from being chucked overhead far more seamlessly than she could have predicted. It was around this time that D.B. started wondering if it was her own sluggishness from not being 100% that was allowing Blossom to get the upper-hand...or had Blossom just gotten a whole lot better since they last tussled. Granted, that was some time ago, but all that time off polishing dumbbells apparently didn't make her lose a step.

Swift counters were keeping D.B. on the defensive. Making her increasingly agitated. Even moreso once she felt a petite yet muscled arm coil around her head.

No one could fault a wrestler for starting to panic from having your neck unnaturally wrenched back along with having your face firmly stuffed into your opponent's armpit. But D.B. knew better than to lose her cool so quickly, instead channeling that frustration into scrambling to shift her legs beneath her. The bunny girl propping herself on her knees before what seemed to be her powering out of the move...

...only for D.B. to abruptly stop her ascension half way, the bunny girl still on her knees while eliciting a stuffed and mumbling groan. She was clenching onto Blossom’s arm and was clearly still resisting, but not being at her best meant this was far as she could go before she suddenly hit a wall...and the strain on her spine and lack of breathable air certainly wasn’t helping matters.