World Wrestling Generation

”Well, I didn’t expect to see you around here again any time soon…”

The scene opens up in the office of Jace Gryphon’s training gym.  Jace is seated on one side of his desk in an old, beat-up, green leather chair.  Across the table from him, Rayven has taken a seat on an even cheaper looking chair made of some black material.  The desk between them is as cluttered as it’s ever been with paperwork and opened envelopes.  A stack of folded towels takes up a corner behind Jace.

Rayven shrugs at his comment and looks off to the side, as though something on one of the walls was far more interesting to her than whatever Jace had to say.  He sighed and opened a drawer on his desk, pulling out a bottle of Jack Daniels and a couple of glasses.  He poured himself a drink, then offered the bottle to Rayven, but again, she just shrugged and looked away.  Jace sighed as he returned the drink and empty glass to the drawer.

Jace::
“I hear they’re getting ready to open back up again.  What was that place called?  World Wrestling Generation?”

Rayven rolled her eyes and finally turned her gaze to Jace.

Rayven::
“Don’t act like you don’t know the name of the place, your two top students both held the World title there.  And yeah, I’ve heard the rumors too.  We’ll see if anything actually comes of it.”

Jace leaned back in his chair as he took a sip of the whiskey, not even making a face at the burn.  He’d likely become accustomed to the taste over several years of drinking.

Jace::
“So you’re going to go back there and get your belt back from Barney?”

Rayven appeared to ignore the question as she pulled her cell phone from a jacket pocket and looked at it for a moment.  She stashed it away again and looked back to Jace.

Rayven::
“That’s what I came here to talk to you about.  I’m retired.  I’m done with this game.  Rayne has a new business endeavor she wants me to help out with.  It pays three times as much, and I won’t be waking up bruised all over.  Even you wouldn’t be too stupid to turn down that offer.”

Jace held the glass steady midway back to his mouth for another sip and stared at Rayven for a moment.

Jace::
“So you’re ok with your last moment between the ropes being a loss to Barney Green of all people?  You’re not itching to get back in there, teach him a lesson, and take back what’s rightfully yours?”

Rayven ran a hand through her hair, then checked her phone again.  This may have been why she came here today, but she seems less interested in this conversation than the spider building a web in the corner above the towels.

Rayven::
“That loss caused me to do a lot of thinking.  About wrestling, and life in general.  I just wasn’t enjoying it any more, I felt like I was just going through the motions, and that’s probably how I let myself lose to someone like Barney Green.  I’m just a point in my life where this isn’t bringing me joy any more and I need to move on and find something that does.  I think that’s why Trine left when she did.  She wanted to leave while she was on top, before she found herself in a place like where I’m at now.”

Jace tossed back the rest of the drink and set the glass down on the desk a bit harder than necessary.

Jace::
“Well, maybe it’s for the best you don’t go back.  After all, between the three of us - me, you, and Trine - you’re the only one that ever lost to Barney.”

Rayven just shrugged and stared Jace down for a moment.

Rayven::
“And what difference does that make?  Some sweaty neckbeards might have a lesser opinion of me on some internet message boards?  I don’t care.  Rayne is talking about going and doing some real good in this world, something we’ll actually be remembered for.  So I’m going to go and join her with that, and leave all of this behind me.”

Rayven stood up and shrugged her jacket onto her shoulders and grabbed her bag from the floor beside the chair.  As she turned to leave, Jace stood up and jogged around the desk to put a hand on her shoulder and stop her.

Rayven::
“I swear to f*ck if you’re going to give me a pitch to stay in the business…”

Jace shook his head and moved between Rayven and the door.

Jace::
“No, I know better than to tell you to do something you don’t want to do.  But before you go, there’s someone I want you to meet.  If nothing else, maybe you could be a mentor to them, or at least give the management over at WWG her name so she can get some real work.”

Rayven rolled her eyes and stepped back to sit on the edge of the desk, throwing a hand up as if to say “go ahead and do it then”.  Jace opened the door to the office and leaned out to yell something down the hallway.  He returned to his seat behind the desk and waited for whoever to answer his call.  A few minutes later, the door opened, and a blonde woman entered the room looking like she’d just stepped out of the middle of a workout.

Jace::
“This here is my current top prospect.  Her name is Kira Starlight, I think she’s got something special, and could be the next project of my gym to go on and hold World gold.”

Rayven looked Kira up and down skeptically.  Kira almost bounced forward and held her hand out to Rayven.

Kira::
“Hi!  I’m Kira, like he said.  And I know you’re Rayven.  I’ve heard all about you and watched all of your matches.  I’m a big fan!”

Rayven continued to stare at Kira quizzically, one eyebrow lofted higher than the other.

Rayven::
“Are you kidding me?  You’re a fan of -me-?  You seem more like a Trine type to me…”

Kira’s eyes lit up and she began to bounce on the balls of her feet.

Kira::
“Oh, yes!  I’m a big fan of Trine’s too!  I especially loved when you two were working together.  It’s a shame you two never won the Tag titles together, but your matches against each other were so great too!  I’d say they’re not just the best matches ever in WWG, but just….EVER!”

A smile slowly began to creep over Rayven’s face and she turned and glanced back at Jace.

Rayven::
“You know, Jace.  I think I see it too.  I think I see what you see in this girl.”

Kira tilted her head to one side, looking at Rayven waiting for her to go on.  Jace simply shrugged his shoulders.

Jace::
“Oh yeah?  What’s that?”

Rayven turned her gaze back to Kira and the smile had now turned into more of a mocking smirk.

Rayven::
“She’s a discount Trine Larsen.*  Good luck with this one.”

Rayven grabbed her bag and pushed past Kira to leave the office.  Kira looked after Rayven, a bit puzzled, then looked back to Jace.  Jace was doing an awful job of hiding his laugh.

Kira::
“What exactly does that mean?  A discount Trine Larsen?”