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 Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2022 8:33 am
Salem's bus pulled into the WWFG Arena lot, coming to a stop in an area designated for talent parking only, with easy access inside to avoid spoilers or unwanted contact from fans. His dutiful and portly bus driver, an older man named Murphy, kicked the bus doors open with a hiss from the airbrakes, the gentleman getting out of his seat and turning to the aisle of the bus, making note of his passenger.
"Boss, you want me to get the chair ready?" he asked Salem, who was sitting in visible discomfort in a lounge area behind the cab.
"No chairs..." Salem said quietly, a smidge of irritation at the question in his soft voice. "...just go on ahead, let management know I'm here."
Murphy nodded silently and went on his diligent way, moving down the stairs and into the venue, proper. By comparison, Salem was stiffer getting up and about, moving rigidly and cautiously as he winced a bit with every step taken, grunting down each stair until his feet met pavement, pulling his gym bag up and over his shoulder and making his way to the talent entrance door.
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Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2022 8:42 am
Meanwhile, as Salem so gingerly moves around entering the building, the champion, fresh off putting the boss through a table, meets him at the entrance, the title belt on his shoulder as he hadn't made his way to his locker room to change for his match yet. Still he'd seen Salem's driver come in and figured the man was somewhere behind him.
"Salem, buddy, why the hell are you here?"
Drako would stand in his path, knowing it'd probably be too hard for Salem to duck him in his current state.
"I know the idea might be foreign to you, but there's this thing called taking time to heal. You ever thought about that?"
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Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2022 8:53 am
Salem took note as Drako stepped out to confront him just before he could reach the door, recognizing immediately by the man's tone and posture that he intended to obstruct him. With a '******** my luck' kind of chuckle and grin, Salem stopped approaching and ran his empty hand through his hair, temporarily unable to look at his friend. But the shiny gold he carried couldn't help but draw attention.
The WWFG World Title was Salem's first and greatest goal left unachieved, and disappointment briefly set in his face at both his past and present failures, his heart hurting much like his body. But the belt looked good on his bud's shoulder, and that brought a smile back to Salem's face and his eyes back to Drako's.
"Heh, hey mate. Congrats, by the way. I'm proud of you, champ. You know I'll owe you one for that." he teased playfully, his tone a manipulation to hide the pain his body was experiencing, not wanting his friend to see him limping around. Taking a step towards Drako's side, he initiated trying to slip past, hoping he could bypass a confrontation.
"Just got some business to take care of, you mind?" he asked rhetorically, taking another step and trying to nonchalantly avoid conflict.
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Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2022 9:22 am
Drako simply holds out a hand to signal the man to stop, not like he could dodge him now if he wanted to.
"Oh, I know your business, and not just the things you muttered in your dream state on that trip you took me on before the tournament finals. That's more of a job for a therapist to sort out. You got a two out of three falls match with Bison, an unsanctioned match. But dude, you can barely move. If I bothered to actually put a hand on you I'm 90 percent certain you'd fall over. I might get sued for assault. At this point I'd ask if Cartwright hates you or me more, but I just put him through a buffet table so I'm pretty sure it's me. Seriously, have you lost your mind or are you just a glutton for punishment?"
Drako looks Salem over, noting his friend looks more ragged than ever.
"Didn't that guy sit a literal cage on your sternum, and you want to go out there and fight him again when you clearly haven't recovered? Should I be calling your parents to have you committed?"
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Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2022 2:28 pm
Salem rolled for evasion and failed, his dexterity stat too nerfed to evade Drako's probing questions. With a slight grunt and a heavy sigh, Salem sat his duffel down and faced his friend earnestly, a solemn look on his face as he started speaking.
"Look, bro...I can't back down anymore. From anyone. You know I love you, I appreciate you wanting to look out for me. But I have to prove I can still hang, man, hurt or not. I want what you got, it's why I came back here. I'm so happy for you, if I hadn't been in the hospital when you won, I'd have been celebrating with you, and you know that. But I gotta get to that level, and the only way forward for me is through. Through pain, through injury, through Bison. He's gotta pay, there has to be a receipt. So I'm bringing it, tonight. Could you really walk away if you were the one limping in my shoes?"
Salem studied his friend's face, sad at having to butt heads with him but happy he cared, even still resolute in what he has to do, waiting to see his compadre's reaction.
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Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2022 7:53 pm
Drako frowns.
"Walk away, no. But live to fight another day, yeah, i could do that. You can barely move, breathing sounds a little labored, and you're going in there against a behemoth. Is it worth shortening your career to not take a show or two off to make sure you didn't break any bones or puncture an organ? It's great to have guts, but at some point you gotta consider your long term health here."
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Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2022 8:21 pm
Salem looked down at his feet for a second, contemplating quietly how his friend's words were right, but knowing he wouldn't be able to stop himself from going through with his plans, success or failure. Salem knew this wasn't smart, something he'd tried to be his whole life, but intelligent as he was, stubbornness won almost every single time. He couldn't let this slide, he needed to stand up for himself, but Salem was happy that his friend was there trying to save him from a bad decision, offering him a little smile and fistbumping the champ in the shoulder.
"Thanks, bud. But, I'm not gonna just roll over and die for Bison. I'm not gonna run from him. You know how tough I am better than most people. And yeah, this isn't smart, but neither is he. He's a big dumb brute that got through life being larger and stronger than everyone else. Someone needs to remind him us little guys can still put him on his a**, right? Besides, Champ - you got bigger things to worry about. Like holding onto that belt until I come for it. Steak's on me tonight after I win, deal?" He said, holding a hand out to his friend.
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Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2022 8:50 pm
Drako sighs. Salem is insane, and stubborn, and annoying as hell. like the little brother he never asked for.
"Try not to die out there then."
Drako shakes his hand, agreeing to his deal. In reality, he's concerned for his friend. He's not so confident in him, not in this condition.
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Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2022 8:58 pm
Salem tried to give his friend a reassuring smile as they shook hands, giving him as firm a grip he could spare without showing the stress of the strain aching in every muscle. Nodding at Drako, he bumped knuckles with the champ and patted him on the shoulder, his hand tapping on the title as he started to go past.
"We all got our burdens to bear, bruddah. Yours is here, mine is there. But this won't be the end. Not of you, and not of me, mate."
With that, Salem hefted his duffel bag and passed around Drako a little gingerly, swinging the heavy metal door open and disappearing inside the arena with the sound of a heavy metal latch coming to.
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Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2022 9:11 pm
Drako watches Salem go back into the arena and sighs. There's no way that this night is going to end well. After his match is done, he'll be watching Salem's match tonight. He heads in the arena again and towards his own locker room, a feeling of uneasiness going strong and getting stronger
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