Post by Eira on Oct 8, 2015 14:43:56 GMT -5
The video, apparently footage from Deadly Intentions VI just a night before, opens to a view of backstage. The cameraman rounds a couple corners and zooms in on two medics bustling about near a gurney. The taller of the two moves aside to reveal PCW's Dr. Harold Suresh - and Eira! Her hair unbound, streaks of blood are visible here and there in the silvery waves. Her back to the camera, Eira shakes her head in response to something said before the tech had caught up to the scene.
"I told you, I'm fine. I just need to be more careful, that's all."
The backstage area looks to be in building chaos as, somewhere behind the camera, there is another commotion.
"Showtime?! Where the hell is he?!" Shouts a familiar voice and the camera re-positions to see a furious Non Compos Mentis charging up the corridor and interrogating each staff member he can find. Eira leaps up from the gurney, setting both hands against NCM's shoulders and slamming him back first into the wall.
"Don't you think there are OTHER things you should be asking yourself right now? Like why the FUCK you just tried to kill me in that ring?!"
NCM isn't in any mood to be handled and he quickly pushes back, causing Dr Suresh to jump back to Eira's side. "Maybe Showtime wouldn't have got his mitts on my title if you'd done the reasonable thing and not got into that ring in the first place!"
Eira shakes off the doctor's grip on her arm, stepping right back up into NCM's face.
"You want to talk to me about reasonable? YOU!? I dug your unwashed carcass out of a homeless shelter in I-Can't-Even-Pronounce-It New York for your HELP. Yet somehow, despite seeing like EVERYONE ELSE that Sadistic nearly caved my fucking skull in, it seems like you've done your level best the past two times we've met in the ring to finish the job!"
"You're right, you came for my help. I got that International Title off Kelli didn't I? I stopped the Black Hand winning the Icemann Invitational. But you, what have you done?" Even NCM seems to hesitate after his harsh words, running his hand over his face to wipe away the sweat and frustration of the last few minutes. He takes a moment to try and calm himself then tries to make some kind of amends. "Look, you want to bring down Sadistic and the rest of the Black Hand, I get it. You know I want that too. But when you go off on a one-woman crusade against them you end up like THIS."
"Yeah, you're right. You came back and grabbed a title to be the returning hero, and I haven't done fuck all the last year. I totally get where you're coming from." "Dick." goes unspoken, but heard all the same. Her eyes narrow as she glares up at him. "DO you want to pull the Black Hand down? Because I don't see so much focus on them as I see on just continuing to be a trained bear in the ring. You go in, you maul your opponents regardless of who they are or what condition they're in, and you move on."
Eira leans in, her voice finally lowering to something less than the auditory equivalent of a bitchslap.
"It should be an indictment of just how fucked PCW is right now that I trust you more than anyone else. You nearly killed my husband in a car crusher, and that was just the cherry on top of a fucked up cake. Before that you'd put plenty of effort into tearing down BOTH of us, because Hobo King."
Her dark eyes meet his, the first hint of actual vulnerability she'd ever shown the man creeping into her voice. "I can't do this alone. I need your help, just like you need mine - but I need to know where you stand."
There's an uncomfortable silence and the unseen image of several scales in NCM's brain weighing the tempestuous history of the two against the need to bring down The Black Hand. He looks frustrated, but somewhere he sees some ray of hope in Eira's words. "The man that nearly killed Murdoc is gone, and I'm not the animal you think I am. If you climb in that ring, with my title on the line and a member of The Black Hand around, and you're not 100%, I can't take responsibility for the result."
He takes a step back from Eira, appearing to lose the edge of aggression in his stance. "If you really want this to work, and you want The Black Hand to be brought down, then I'm with you. But if I'm going to trust you, I need you to be 100%, I need you to be the God damn World Champion you used to be."
A look of bitterness twists Eira's face at NCM's words. "Used to be is the operative part of that sentence." She crosses her arms, shoulders slumping as she leans back against the wall behind her, rage spent. "I can be as 100% as I can be - but it's a bit ridiculous for you to demand I be in perfect working order when you're exploiting a previous, severe injury any time we're in the ring against one another."
"I'm not asking for perfect, I'm asking for the Eira who'd stomp my chest in for questioning whether she's a World Champion or not." Something resembling a smile passes the lips of NCM as he, forgetting or at least pushing back old rivalries, extends a hand to Eira.
"Now, you want to stay here and be sorry for yourself, or do you want to do something about getting yours and my titles back?"
She scowls, but a ghost of a smirk curves her mouth. "Do the two have to be mutually exclusive?"
Sticking her arm out her slender hand clasps NCM's in a firm shake, Eira jerking her arm to bring NCM lurching across the hallway towards her. Bringing her other hand up to his face in a disturbingly gentle gesture, she smiles brightly.
"Just to be clear? Mine is the World."
Mentis, while looking a little uncomfortable at the closeness of Eira and her demeanor, doesn't move. "There's the Eira I know."
She grins, releasing him with a jovial nudge that's just a hair sharper than really necessary. "I'm glad you approve. Now, shall we adjourn to somewhere a bit more private? I have information for you."
Mentis tilts his head, unsure of exactly what information she could have for him, but extends his arm down the corridor. "After you."
The two turn away from the camera as Eira brushes past NCM down the hallway, the large man following as the video terminates.
**Thanks to Non Compos Mentis for the collaborative, real-time RP!**
