Heather and Regina stood together in one of the training rooms at the Claw Coliseum while waiting for their expected instructor.
"So... how did we end up in this again?" Heather asked to Regina as they stood together, each wearing a black shirt and shorts.
Heather's was rather normal, by Animalian standards and were even normal by Dinotopian standards. Regina's, however, were a bit more specialized to allow for her sail which covered her back and spine.
"You got territorially protective of your husband and some guy from the Sci-Fi channel overheard and booked it as an Indominus Rex/Spinosaurus fight to promote the ideas for the Mesozoic Fight Club idea," Regina answered.
Heather slowly sighed and nodded. She remembered coming looking for Jeremy at Horizon to find that he'd left with someone before she had arrived. She then left before the Horizon staff could even explain who Jeremy had left with and the nature of the visit. Heather caught enough of a scent to know that whoever Jeremy had left with was not only a Dinotopian, but female. She thus set out to make sure that there were no more incidents like what had happened the past Halloween. That lead her to the steakhouse that she and Jeremy had advertised for the Super Bowl in Lyre/Animalia where she confronted Regina with her concerns. Which of course then lead to the proposed fight.
Of course, while it did resolve the problem of a uncontrolled brawl in a restaurant and prevented Heather from getting into any more trouble, she still had no idea how all of that progressed into an official fight. She could see the Sci-Fi channel wanting to make a made for TV movie that would need Animalian actors for some of their sci-fi effects, or some other new series about werewolves or something like that and wouldn't have to rely on half-naked CGI effects for their characters, but promoting a fight wasn't what she expected out of a representative of that channel. Yet, it happened, and that fight was scheduled. Heather figured it was probably the result of too many people getting interested in supposed fights and battles that she'd heard Rex say weren't likely to happen naturally, even if the two animals did coexist in the same time and environment.
"And I'm actually here for the excitement," Regina commented, "Live dangerously and all that... what about you? If you REALLY don't want to do this... you could always say you'd rather not be involved."
Heather sighed and looked down for a moment before looking over to Regina, "I guess some of it is the result of my overreaction that you might be taking Jeremy from me. I mean... the fight posters appeared before either of us agreed to anything... and the way I acted, I was pretty much challenging you to a fight. For the wrong reasons, but still... it became something that I couldn't get myself out of without coming more wrong than I was then..."
And she was honest there. Heather's real preferences was in her art, and as she got better at drawing with her thicker fingers, she was able to make some money designing the advertising posters that Horizon used for its products, some of which didn't relate to Animalia at all. She wasn't by temperament or nature a fighter, and that much of her violent, or at least potentially violent, outbursts had been more out of letting her emotions get the better of her. And that when she'd acted on them, there was no plan beyond lashing out in anger. Against Sophie and Roland it had gotten her a criminal record for assault and attempted murder, and while the instincts issue may have ultimately lowered her sentence, it didn't change the fact that she'd responded to problems in anger and let her lack of emotional control get the better her. It happened again with Regina, and Heather was fairly certain that while the man from the Sci-Fi Channel had prevented an outright brawl, the fact that she'd made the threat thinking that she'd lose Jeremy would only reflect badly on her. In a sense, pride had kept her committed to the fight than anything else, and after the fight, she'd settle into her artwork and enjoying the love that Jeremy gave her and she returned.
"You'll need more than just that in your life," Regina commented, "It's one of those things that I noticed being a wheelchair for so long... all the exciting stuff just passed me by."
Heather didn't say anything, but simply nodded. As she did so, the door the room opened and moderately heavy footfalls where heard as the man that had agreed to help them start with their training.
"Sorry I'm late," Brett Horne spoke as he walked across the mat to stand in front of both Heather and Regina, "some of the meetings in coordinating things between the A-BC and the UFC-A competitions can be murder... especially when there are different sets and different rules for each group. Add in that Mario is on his honeymoon right now... and I'm picking up some of his training duties."
The Styracosaurus Dinotopian moved calmly and confidently until he was before both Regina and Heather. Both of them nodded and kept their eyes focused on him. He eventually started with some basic questions on what the two of them knew on fighting and self-defense. As the two Theropod Dinotopians answered, Brett had to sigh and frown heavily. Heather's past endeavors, legal and otherwise, gave him some indication that while she knew how to throw punches, they were a more primal and instinctive method of fighting that he'd seen before in the underground fight rings. For humans, that was bad enough, add in that Heather had teeth and claws to do added damage, Brett knew there was a lot that he had to do make sure that Heather responded in a more "sporting" way that was in accordance with the rules. Regina's past spinal injuries had also meant that she'd had no experience with fighting whatsoever, and while Brett was perfectly fine with wanting excitement in one's life, he also knew that if that was the only motivation, that could present its own problems.
"Okay... there's going to be a LOT of training that BOTH of you are going to have to do," Brett answered, "and you can forget all the trash talking stuff that Sci-Fi channel guy said. That really only works in Pro Wrestling, which is one hundred percent fake. Actual combat sports do not have personas and plot driven narratives. Real combat sports, from boxing to Olympic Wrestling to martial arts tournaments and Mixed Martial Arts matches are going to pit your skills in these areas and ALL will have rules as to what is and is not allowed. And the UFC-A also has its most stringent guidelines to make sure that all contests remain sporting and the threat of life threatening injuries is minimized. That means no biting, no clawing, no tail slapping, no blows between the legs, no blows to the breasts, and no comic book inspired back breaking moves."
"Wouldn't the no blows between the legs be something for males?" Heather wondered, her mind going over the various clips of people running into poles or getting kicked in the groin for odd reasons."
"The more humorous stories would relate to that," Brett answered, "but I'd imagine that a sharp claw to that region could do real damage to YOUR reproductive organs too. We don't want anything ripped out."
Heather and Regina traded glances and then nodded. They could both agree that they didn't want their equipment damaged by the other's claws, and as they thought about it, Brett's commentary made sense. Brett then moved over to a large punching bag that hung from the ceiling. It was one that normal Animalians and Humans often used in their own workouts and boxing practice to train their punches, but given the size and strength differences was probably too small for a Dinotopian. Thankfully, though, the specific gym they were in DID have a punching back of sturdier construction and had a stronger steel cable from which the bag could be suspended. And it didn't take him too long to unhook the normal punching bag's clip and let it drop to the floor. From there he moved the normal back over to the far wall and then rolled the Dinotopian Punching Bag so that it was under the specialized latch/anchor that was there for it.
"For today, we're going to start with some basic stances and practice for throwing an effective punch," Brett spoke as he lifted up the cable and gave a hard grunt as he got the metal latch into the hook in the ceiling for the punching back, "That'll get you a start on understanding the form that would apply to boxing and would go beyond someone's only experience has been in unorganized fights related to old criminal activity or never having been in a fight at all. It'll help you understand how to throw a punch and abide by the rules we've set up to try and avoid injuries as much as possible."
What then followed was Brett providing demonstrations on how to stand and balance themselves, which Heather and Regina had to match. He then demonstrated how to throw a proper punch, with the specialized punching bag swinging back with an audible "thwak" as his fist hit the bag. In turn, Heather and Regina were then expected to do the same. They'd have a long way to go before they were ready for the advertised battle next year, but it was a start.