Post by Ana Somnia on Mar 20, 2022 16:06:15 GMT -5
III.
“LAST ONE STANDING”
INDIAN STAIRCASE AND ARCH LOOP.
RED RIVER GORGE
STANTON, KENTUCKY.
FRIDAY, MARCH 18th.
9:43 a.m.
“LAST ONE STANDING”
INDIAN STAIRCASE AND ARCH LOOP.
RED RIVER GORGE
STANTON, KENTUCKY.
FRIDAY, MARCH 18th.
9:43 a.m.
It’s been quite some time since EHWF GLOBAL CHAMPION ANA SOMNIA has been able to get a hike in on her own. Hiking has helped her focus her mind ever since she was small, and she has a day to kill before her title defense just forty-five minutes from where she presently stands. She wears a loose-fitting brown tank top over a black sports bra, black leggings, and a tan pair of hiking boots with white socks peeking out from the top. There’s a backpack wrapped around her muscular shoulders and her hair is tied up in a messy bun beneath a black W.C.A. FIGHT CLUB beanie.
As she nears the Indian Staircase, she flicks a glance down to her Apple Watch to check the time. She had wanted to make the hike closer to when the sun would be highest in the sky, but the forecast calls for some rain in the area, so she instead opted for an early-morning trek. Taking one final swig of her water in preparation for her endeavor up the Staircase, Ana then shoves the bottle into her backpack and removes her beanie to scratch her head. Replacing the beanie, she sets off to the base of the next leg of the hike and gets to work. Quite quickly, she advances her way up the Staircase, atop which she then scrambles a similar elevation gain to the top of the Ridge Line.
Hooking a left, Somnia continues a couple hundred feet until she reaches an overlook with a Frog’s Head-shaped rock further out on the descending ledge. She peers out over the distance and slowly draws a long, deep breath through her nose. Grinning, Ana nods and glances down at the ground beside her. Ana plops down onto the ground and makes herself comfortable so she can continue to savor the view. She rests for a mere few moments more before nodding and placing her phone on a rock behind her. The Devil Herself opens up Instagram and begins broadcasting live. She struts confidently out on the ledge, her eyes gliding along the nature before her. It is only after a moment more of this before she whips around and narrows her eyes at the camera.
“Nature has way of solidifying perspective,” she explains. “I have seen enough of Remi Skyfire to know who she is… to know what she is. I once might have said it would be honor to take her career from her. Now I’m thinking it might be fun. Now I’m thinking… I take her dignity, too. Now I’m thinking… I take her life, too.” Somnia shrugs, taking another deep, contemplative breath of the fresh elevated air. “You see, nature has way... of imposing will. And I? I am extension of that nature. I have way of imposing my will. Like nature, I am… inevitable.” Ana takes another breath and chuckles lightly. “So to tell truth, it is fine if my accomplishments do not scare Remi Skyfire. She is not first to not fear me and she will not be last. I do not need her to fear me. I will slaughter her all the same.” A smirk crawls across her lips. “I do not want her ‘beaten before bell’. I want to watch as she realizes she cannot stop me, cannot save herself. I want to watch color drain from her eyes as I salt Earth with her blood.” With a sweeping motion, Slavic Steel gestures openly to the nature beyond the ledge behind her. “That… мучение and hopelessness... it nourishes me. All of this… All of this because I caught her scent. This is little more than cat and mouse, нет? I know her truth.” Somnia flicks the pad of her thumb along the back of her top front two teeth before continuing. “I heard her words on Premiere and I listened. I listened to her words closely. And then I saw her actions in ring, in match. I saw her actions when constraints of sport came loose.”
“Her words told me she is not Ana Somnia; her actions told me she wants to be.”
“But this does not flatter me,” she hisses. “In fact, it only assures I must wipe her off face of planet. The future of this sport has no place for woman like Remi Skyfire. While I understand temptation to want what I have, she never will.” A grin briefly grips her features. “The foundation from which I am building this company and future of our sport is for those fit to continue to build upon it.” She stabs downward with an extended index finger for emphasis. “But like any legitimate fighter knows, you cannot remain stagnant. You must continue to learn, to evolve. You will never evolve if you are constantly longing to be someone, something you are not.” Somnia shrugs matter-of-factly. “It is survival of fittest in this sport. It’s part of why I love it. Remi Skyfire is not fittest. She’s not fit to fight, much less survive. Admittedly, I was almost amused by her delusions of loftier ambitions at first.” Softly, with a sardonic undertone, a snicker hums through Slavic Steel’s sinister sneer. “But at end of day? She is what we true fighters call a one night stand. Nothing more. And because of this, she does not have place in future of sport. But in order for me to have this future? She cannot have future… at all.”
Ana turns from her phone to look out on the vastness of nature beyond the descending ledge. Her frame follows suit and she takes a few deep breaths while silently peering outward, away from the camera on the phone. Slowly, Somnia cocks her head to either side to crack her neck; after that, she leans her head back at an even slower pace, her eyes closed throughout. One last deep breath later, Somnia turns back to the phone and squares herself to it with a focused demeanor.
“You think you can catch me, yes?” she asks rhetorically. “Problem is you are like dog chasing car. You would not know what to do if you caught me. So you should not even try.” Somnia shakes her head emphatically. “Maybe you should do smart thing and run, сука,” she continues, pivoting, though, to directly address her top Contender. “Or perhaps you should bring me your friend, Tyler Wolfe. At least maybe she could give me real fight. I do not have faith you are equal to task. But… in event you choose to stay, маленькая мышь?” Ana’s eyebrow slowly lifts skyward. “You must do so with full understanding of what is to come. If you get into ring with me, Skyfire? I will send you home to Allison in WOOD BOX!” Her animalistic roar disturbs a flock of birds somewhere nearby and they scatter into the sky. “You must become example. You must become Final Example.” Ana nods again, using the movement to further illustrate just how central to her identity this malice aforethought is. “You will not take title from me. No one will. I will carry this title and this company into future as I have promised. The only thing you will take from me is a beating. And who knows? Maybe after I send you home in wood box, I will show Allison what real woman can do.”
“You are so consumed with what you want to take from me, you have not given thought to what I will take from you.”
“You see,” she continues. “I do not pretend I am so far above everyone else. I am so far above everyone else. I am centerpiece of show because I am centerpiece of company— and of sport. You will learn this for yourself moments before I take your dignity, your career, and your life.” Ana shrugs with a small grin. “Which means one thing. You should be grateful I even know your name, сука. I’m the only person to have ever held both EHWF World and Global Championships. There is reason for this. I think this reason makes you jealous. It makes you desperate. Desperation will get you killed.” Somnia gestures to the nature beyond the ledge as if to suggest she might throw Remi from a mountaintop. “Your jealousy, your desperation, it has made you delusional. It has made you project your inadequacy, your insecurity onto me. It is why you have convinced yourself I am scared. Scared? Сука, I fear NOTHING. I fear NO ONE. Least of all you.” Ana gestures to the camera with an open hand, as if gesturing to Remi in person. “But this is not full extent of your delusion. You should have been watching me more closely. I am bad for company? I am bad for sport? I AM company. I AM sport.” As her tone grows more guttural and animalistic, she pumps her fist against her chest twice for emphasis. “Without me, company would not exist for you to make fool of yourself in like this. Without me, sport would still toil away in mediocrity. I push this sport forward. I give this sport future. What do you do for it, hmm? What do you give it?”
“I cannot wait to kick delusions of loftier ambitions out back of your skull.”
“Hypocrites are not fit to be EHWF Global Champion,” she states simply. “Champion must be fit to lead sport into future. You are not fit, сука, to lead, let alone lead our sport itself. You have barely led single respectable war campaign when stakes are low. I do not believe in you, Remi. I do not. Deep down, neither do you.” Somnia looks out over the horizon and spots rain clouds in the distance. A grim undertone grips her features. “You do not need to worry about pretending so you can sleep at night, not anymore. You will not have chance to sleep ever again once I have finished with you.” Ana rolls her shoulders back to limber them up before cocking her head side-to-side to crack her neck. “You have poked bear and now I must stomp out your insignificant flash in pan. I will choke you out with your own insides... put you to sleep. I will tear open your body, your mind, your spirit... and I will rip Black heart from your chest and stomp on it for world to see.” The corner of Ana’s mouth creeps upward, eventually curling in a nefarious smirk. “Because this is what happens when you stand in way of progress... when you stand in my way. When you step into ring with Undisputed? When you step into MY ring?”
“NO ONE SURVIVES!”
Once again, a flock of birds somewhere beyond the borders of our frame frantically cries out, leaping into the sky. Somnia nods emphatically and approaches the phone with purpose in her every minute movement. She arrives at the phone and picks it up to end her live stream. She waits until it sends before shoving the phone in her bag and taking one last sip of water. For a moment longer, she takes in the view, a deep breath drawn inward. With her eyes dead set ahead to the future—and the rest of the way through her hike, of course—the Slavic Submission Specialist leaves the clearing and overlook to venture off into the nature her body had been craving.
For one of these two women, there will be a not-so-Sudden Death. The pep (for lack of a better term) in Ana Somnia’s step tells you everything you need to know about her mindset as she heads toward the ultimate battle between Bantamweight Bruiser and Lightweight Loaded Cannon. It isn’t just that Somnia looks forward to the opportunity to defend her title…
She looks forward to the violence.
“I won't let you kill me— not like you could.
They say you only die one time and I’mma make mine good.
You think you got me cornered but here's what you don't know:
you didn't get the best of me; I saved that for myself.
An easy target, an easy mark, but how do you think I got this far?
I'll turn to face you, then I'll erase you.
Before I do, I'll take this moment like I own it.
Ain't seen the last of me, 'cause I will be the last one standing.
Walk through the fire, it takes me higher.
Ain't seen the last of me, 'cause I will be the last one standing.”
— Icon For Hire
As she nears the Indian Staircase, she flicks a glance down to her Apple Watch to check the time. She had wanted to make the hike closer to when the sun would be highest in the sky, but the forecast calls for some rain in the area, so she instead opted for an early-morning trek. Taking one final swig of her water in preparation for her endeavor up the Staircase, Ana then shoves the bottle into her backpack and removes her beanie to scratch her head. Replacing the beanie, she sets off to the base of the next leg of the hike and gets to work. Quite quickly, she advances her way up the Staircase, atop which she then scrambles a similar elevation gain to the top of the Ridge Line.
Hooking a left, Somnia continues a couple hundred feet until she reaches an overlook with a Frog’s Head-shaped rock further out on the descending ledge. She peers out over the distance and slowly draws a long, deep breath through her nose. Grinning, Ana nods and glances down at the ground beside her. Ana plops down onto the ground and makes herself comfortable so she can continue to savor the view. She rests for a mere few moments more before nodding and placing her phone on a rock behind her. The Devil Herself opens up Instagram and begins broadcasting live. She struts confidently out on the ledge, her eyes gliding along the nature before her. It is only after a moment more of this before she whips around and narrows her eyes at the camera.
“Nature has way of solidifying perspective,” she explains. “I have seen enough of Remi Skyfire to know who she is… to know what she is. I once might have said it would be honor to take her career from her. Now I’m thinking it might be fun. Now I’m thinking… I take her dignity, too. Now I’m thinking… I take her life, too.” Somnia shrugs, taking another deep, contemplative breath of the fresh elevated air. “You see, nature has way... of imposing will. And I? I am extension of that nature. I have way of imposing my will. Like nature, I am… inevitable.” Ana takes another breath and chuckles lightly. “So to tell truth, it is fine if my accomplishments do not scare Remi Skyfire. She is not first to not fear me and she will not be last. I do not need her to fear me. I will slaughter her all the same.” A smirk crawls across her lips. “I do not want her ‘beaten before bell’. I want to watch as she realizes she cannot stop me, cannot save herself. I want to watch color drain from her eyes as I salt Earth with her blood.” With a sweeping motion, Slavic Steel gestures openly to the nature beyond the ledge behind her. “That… мучение and hopelessness... it nourishes me. All of this… All of this because I caught her scent. This is little more than cat and mouse, нет? I know her truth.” Somnia flicks the pad of her thumb along the back of her top front two teeth before continuing. “I heard her words on Premiere and I listened. I listened to her words closely. And then I saw her actions in ring, in match. I saw her actions when constraints of sport came loose.”
“Her words told me she is not Ana Somnia; her actions told me she wants to be.”
“But this does not flatter me,” she hisses. “In fact, it only assures I must wipe her off face of planet. The future of this sport has no place for woman like Remi Skyfire. While I understand temptation to want what I have, she never will.” A grin briefly grips her features. “The foundation from which I am building this company and future of our sport is for those fit to continue to build upon it.” She stabs downward with an extended index finger for emphasis. “But like any legitimate fighter knows, you cannot remain stagnant. You must continue to learn, to evolve. You will never evolve if you are constantly longing to be someone, something you are not.” Somnia shrugs matter-of-factly. “It is survival of fittest in this sport. It’s part of why I love it. Remi Skyfire is not fittest. She’s not fit to fight, much less survive. Admittedly, I was almost amused by her delusions of loftier ambitions at first.” Softly, with a sardonic undertone, a snicker hums through Slavic Steel’s sinister sneer. “But at end of day? She is what we true fighters call a one night stand. Nothing more. And because of this, she does not have place in future of sport. But in order for me to have this future? She cannot have future… at all.”
Ana turns from her phone to look out on the vastness of nature beyond the descending ledge. Her frame follows suit and she takes a few deep breaths while silently peering outward, away from the camera on the phone. Slowly, Somnia cocks her head to either side to crack her neck; after that, she leans her head back at an even slower pace, her eyes closed throughout. One last deep breath later, Somnia turns back to the phone and squares herself to it with a focused demeanor.
“You think you can catch me, yes?” she asks rhetorically. “Problem is you are like dog chasing car. You would not know what to do if you caught me. So you should not even try.” Somnia shakes her head emphatically. “Maybe you should do smart thing and run, сука,” she continues, pivoting, though, to directly address her top Contender. “Or perhaps you should bring me your friend, Tyler Wolfe. At least maybe she could give me real fight. I do not have faith you are equal to task. But… in event you choose to stay, маленькая мышь?” Ana’s eyebrow slowly lifts skyward. “You must do so with full understanding of what is to come. If you get into ring with me, Skyfire? I will send you home to Allison in WOOD BOX!” Her animalistic roar disturbs a flock of birds somewhere nearby and they scatter into the sky. “You must become example. You must become Final Example.” Ana nods again, using the movement to further illustrate just how central to her identity this malice aforethought is. “You will not take title from me. No one will. I will carry this title and this company into future as I have promised. The only thing you will take from me is a beating. And who knows? Maybe after I send you home in wood box, I will show Allison what real woman can do.”
“You are so consumed with what you want to take from me, you have not given thought to what I will take from you.”
“You see,” she continues. “I do not pretend I am so far above everyone else. I am so far above everyone else. I am centerpiece of show because I am centerpiece of company— and of sport. You will learn this for yourself moments before I take your dignity, your career, and your life.” Ana shrugs with a small grin. “Which means one thing. You should be grateful I even know your name, сука. I’m the only person to have ever held both EHWF World and Global Championships. There is reason for this. I think this reason makes you jealous. It makes you desperate. Desperation will get you killed.” Somnia gestures to the nature beyond the ledge as if to suggest she might throw Remi from a mountaintop. “Your jealousy, your desperation, it has made you delusional. It has made you project your inadequacy, your insecurity onto me. It is why you have convinced yourself I am scared. Scared? Сука, I fear NOTHING. I fear NO ONE. Least of all you.” Ana gestures to the camera with an open hand, as if gesturing to Remi in person. “But this is not full extent of your delusion. You should have been watching me more closely. I am bad for company? I am bad for sport? I AM company. I AM sport.” As her tone grows more guttural and animalistic, she pumps her fist against her chest twice for emphasis. “Without me, company would not exist for you to make fool of yourself in like this. Without me, sport would still toil away in mediocrity. I push this sport forward. I give this sport future. What do you do for it, hmm? What do you give it?”
“I cannot wait to kick delusions of loftier ambitions out back of your skull.”
“Hypocrites are not fit to be EHWF Global Champion,” she states simply. “Champion must be fit to lead sport into future. You are not fit, сука, to lead, let alone lead our sport itself. You have barely led single respectable war campaign when stakes are low. I do not believe in you, Remi. I do not. Deep down, neither do you.” Somnia looks out over the horizon and spots rain clouds in the distance. A grim undertone grips her features. “You do not need to worry about pretending so you can sleep at night, not anymore. You will not have chance to sleep ever again once I have finished with you.” Ana rolls her shoulders back to limber them up before cocking her head side-to-side to crack her neck. “You have poked bear and now I must stomp out your insignificant flash in pan. I will choke you out with your own insides... put you to sleep. I will tear open your body, your mind, your spirit... and I will rip Black heart from your chest and stomp on it for world to see.” The corner of Ana’s mouth creeps upward, eventually curling in a nefarious smirk. “Because this is what happens when you stand in way of progress... when you stand in my way. When you step into ring with Undisputed? When you step into MY ring?”
“NO ONE SURVIVES!”
Once again, a flock of birds somewhere beyond the borders of our frame frantically cries out, leaping into the sky. Somnia nods emphatically and approaches the phone with purpose in her every minute movement. She arrives at the phone and picks it up to end her live stream. She waits until it sends before shoving the phone in her bag and taking one last sip of water. For a moment longer, she takes in the view, a deep breath drawn inward. With her eyes dead set ahead to the future—and the rest of the way through her hike, of course—the Slavic Submission Specialist leaves the clearing and overlook to venture off into the nature her body had been craving.
For one of these two women, there will be a not-so-Sudden Death. The pep (for lack of a better term) in Ana Somnia’s step tells you everything you need to know about her mindset as she heads toward the ultimate battle between Bantamweight Bruiser and Lightweight Loaded Cannon. It isn’t just that Somnia looks forward to the opportunity to defend her title…
She looks forward to the violence.
“I won't let you kill me— not like you could.
They say you only die one time and I’mma make mine good.
You think you got me cornered but here's what you don't know:
you didn't get the best of me; I saved that for myself.
An easy target, an easy mark, but how do you think I got this far?
I'll turn to face you, then I'll erase you.
Before I do, I'll take this moment like I own it.
Ain't seen the last of me, 'cause I will be the last one standing.
Walk through the fire, it takes me higher.
Ain't seen the last of me, 'cause I will be the last one standing.”
— Icon For Hire
