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Angelica Vaughn · (04-29-2022)

The Rose Kitty Café
‘Lion’s Day’
Portland, OR

Angelica Vaughn was positively ecstatic. Today was a very important day for her Kitty Cafés, and it was a great opportunity for another FUN-raiser event. The café was packed with people, enjoying their beverages, cakes and hearty pies. Kitties were jumping on laps left and right, begging for a pet session or hopeful to maybe get a few scraps of food off the table.

A large TV was playing on the far wall, with live coverage of the NFL Draft. Angelica wasn’t THAT much into football and she’d rather not turn her cafés into sports bars, but on Draft Day it helped convince more than a few people to go out. And it gave her an opportunity to offer a few extra ‘Draft Craft’ beers on tap. But as the Giants were about to announce their seventh overall pick, she muted the TV for a second, and addressed her clientele through a microphone she was carrying. She patted it a few times and after a bit of sharp feedback that made a few people recoil, she cleared her throat.

"Ahem! Hi-hi everybody! First of all, thank you ever so much for being out here tonight! Today is a special day, because it’s Lion’s Day, yay!"

And indeed, all the café cats were adorned with a lion’s mane ‘hat’. It was… the cutest. Literally.

"This, of course, in honor of my next opponent, none other than the Lion Kid himself! Raion Kido, ladies and gents! And what better day than today to introduce… homegrown from the fields of my STA Ranch… our newest product: Kit-TEA!"

Angelica produced a paper windowed bag filled with dried herbs.

"A delicious tea blend of sage, marigold, rose petals, valerian and of course catnip! To be enjoyed by humans and kitties alike. And all proceeds of the next quarter go to the African Wildlife Foundation to help the wild lions that are dying out due to poaching, loss of habitat and climate change. So please, give freely, buy a few bags, tell some friends and have a cup tonight! And remember, it’s safe to drink for your precious fluffy darlings. In fact, they’ll love it! So brew a few cups, let it cool off and pour it in their water bowl. They’ll love you forever! Enjoy your night!"

An applause broke out, the sound of the TV went back on in time for the Falcons’ pick and Angelica breathed a sigh of relief as people returned to their drinks and food. She’d been preparing the Kit-TEA for a few months now and she was very excited for its launch. Of course her Kitty Cafés in Portland and Dallas were going to sell it, but there was also a deal in the works with a few supermarket chains, the STA webshop, and she was really hoping Vinnie would approve her request to sell it at the food stands during XWF shows. There was nothing quite like watching the fruits of your labor come to fruition.

She hoped Raion was going to appreciate the gesture in the way it was intended. His criticisms of her not being ‘focused’ on her opponent rang a bit hollow, but she didn’t want him to feel left out. It was clear that he liked to be given the attention he felt he deserved. By dressing up her café kitties and raising some fun and funds for the African Wildlife Foundation, she made sure that he couldn’t misinterpret her actions as being unfocused on him, or uncaring about their match and its direct implications and consequences, depending on the outcome.

All in all, the whole ‘unfocused’ rhetoric was a bit tired and silly, Angelica thought. Just because she didn’t namedrop her opponents every other sentence, didn’t mean that her sights weren’t clearly set on her matches. What was she supposed to do, describe to great length and in great detail how she was preparing in the sparring ring? Do a journaling session whilst watching tape? Who was ever going to be interested in that?? Why should she broadcast those things?? She took every opponent seriously, and prepared for every one of them with all of the ‘focus’ she could muster. And other than the slip-up against Jenny Myst, she’d done a pretty good job in the ring so far. But in the end, she wasn’t surprised. Raion struck her as a phenomenal competitor, but it was crystal clear he was an incredibly insecure guy at heart. He was good enough for it not to let it affect him too much, but the way he replayed his failures in his head, and needing the focus to constantly be on him was… telling, to say the least. But in all honesty, in a business filled with egomaniacs and psychopaths, to have *that* be your least admirable trait? It just meant Raion was a good guy, and those were sparse around these parts.

She made a mental note to send him a bag of Kit-TEA.

"Or is that playing into stereotypes?" she muttered to herself.

In her head, she could already hear her big brother mockingly scold her. *Oh sure, because he’s Japanese that means he MUST like tea, right? That’s very racist, Tall Sister!”*

But she shook that thought off. He had just been teasing her during their phone call last week. No need to overthink it as being more than the kind gesture it was intended to be.

Angelica went about her business, continuing to serve a few people here and there. She had personnel for that, but she liked doing her bit. She brought a piece of pecan pie and ice cold glass of crisp STA cider to a nearby patron who was focused on the NFL Draft playing on the TV. Apparently, he seemed to be quite upset and barely looked up as Angelica placed his dessert in front of him.

”NOOOOO! Stupid-ass Lions!! I wanted Williams!”

"Mister sir, please!"

Angelica pointed at a sign on the wall that read ‘Potty Mouths do not get fed’, a ‘housewarming gift’ from Ruby. The guy finally noticed her, saw the sign and immediately bowed his head as an apology.

”Apologies, ma’am. It’s just that these Lions are ruining my day. I support the Texans and they took my 2 favorite players in the draft!”

"Texans? Out here?"

”Yeah, we’re on holiday. My wife wanted to come here, she loves your Kitty Café in Dallas, where we live. I’m actually a Cowboys defector. But like I said, these d- ehh… these Lions are ruining my day!”

"Well, I certainly hope that won’t happen to me on Saturday!"

”Why, who do you support?”

"Who, me? Oh no, I don’t really follow football. No, I’m axly wrestling a guy who calls himself the Lion."

”Lion? Of all the animals to choose from!? The Lions SUCK!”

"Sir!"

Angelica pointed at the sign again.

”Sorry! But it’s true, ma’am. Better to call yourself a Panther, or Bengal, or ‘The Ram’, like in that Wrestler movie! Or ‘The Eagle’!”

"Hmmm, that wouldn’t work. He’s Japanese, eagles are like totes too Americanny."

”Okay. Raven then maybe?”

"Pfff, I’ve lost count of how many wrestlers call themselves ravens or crows, or whatever black bird that makes them look creepy and gothic, which they think is cool for some reason. No, I think Lion fits him tee bee aitch."

”Could be interpreted as an insult.”

"I’d rather not insult him, he’s kinda nice."

”But you’re fighting him?

"Wrestling, axly! Big difference! Also, just because I am facing him doesn’t mean we can’t be nice to each other."

”But don’t you need to be angry at him so you can hit him, and sh- err, stuff?”

"Sir, with all due respect, please don’t tell me how to do my job. I’ve done perfectly fine without all of that angry insulting stuff that everybody apparently seems to like so much. There’s this saying that says: ‘In pursuit of greatness, don’t forget to find the goodness.’ I do not intend to."

”All right, my apologies. I didn’t mean to offend.”

"None taken! Enjoy your dessert and the draft, sir."

Angelica made her way back into the kitchen. It was time for a break. She’d been doing prep and working for several hours on end. She plopped herself down on a chair. The few chefs who were preparing orders and the waiters coming to and fro didn’t really bother her as she opened up her phone. She saw a text message front and center.

Quote:WHY WON’T SHINJIRO TALK TO ME!!??

Angelica grinned. Shinji couldn’t be coerced into talking, let alone into liking someone. And Sarah, who was so used to goading a reacting out of pretty much everyone she desired with a flick of her wrist, a snap of her finger or a lash of her tongue, had always had a hard time dealing with that. Especially after Angelica’s retellings of her own, oft lengthy conversations with their big brother. Like last week.

Angelica chose not to get into it at this moment, however. Especially because it reminded her that she *still* had ‘work to do’, as Johnny Hitmaker so often said. #CoolTube subscribers needed some content, and Roxy had been bragging way too much about how her videos on flat Earth theory had gone viral. Angie fired up #CoolTube and started a recording session.

"Hi-hiiiii~! How’s it going, lovelies? Angelica here, reporting in from the Rose Kitty Café in Portland, Oregon! I’m here on Lion’s Day in honor of my upcoming opponent, Raion Kido! Raion has been called many things. A future champion is but one of the many positive things! You know, I asked around a bit what people thought of him, and it was overwhelmingly positive. Also picked up some new… vocab in the process. One word in particular kept coming back. I never knew what a ‘simp’ was, but thankfully I had Roxy to explain it to me. And while it definitely is a bit of a mean thing to call someone, judging by the unhealthy obsession you seem to have with women like Atara Themis and Claire Rogers, I have to say they’re not… totes wrong?

What you do is up to you, of course, mister Kido sir, but I’d advise you to dial that stuff a bit down at times. It makes you an easy target.

Now, I listened to what you had to say about me, and there is one thing I want to ‘focus’ on. On you questioning how far I’d be willing to go in this match. On you questioning I wouldn’t give every single drop of blood, every single ounce of spirit. To that, sir, I can do nothing else but take offence. Because I have given it countless times before. You saying that makes me think that you have *NO* idea of what I’ve had to risk and had to sacrifice to get where I am today. To even *start* on this journey I had to muster every single gram of courage in my body. I was deathly afraid I would fail at every twist and turn, but I eventually lucked out and found people who believed in me. I found a new family who made me more than the sum of my parts.

So please, mister Raion Kido sir, before you go making such accusations, please always consider that questioning someone in that way serves no purpose other than to bring them down. The truth is that if those words of yours were the ones I’d heard at the start of my career, I might have never unlocked my potential, and never gotten to where I am today. So please, reconsider how hurtful those comments can be to someone who literally sacrificed everything to pursue a dream, and was lucky enough that there were people who believed in her.

I’m telling you this, not to throw a pity party, but to make you aware that your words can have very real consequences for those who haven’t found themselves yet. People like you, who burn so bright, who are supposed to be paragons to look up to,… Your words have weight to those who do. If you want to continue to be an example, you would do well not to question people’s desires when in reality they’re chasing their biggest dream. Now, I’m fortunate enough to know my own worth by now. But I’d hate for you to snuff out someone else’s dream by putting yourself on an imaginary pedestal. That may seem harsh, but every action and every word has consequences.

So please, do not question my desire. Do not question my willingness to sacrifice everything I’ve got in order to beat you. I am a professional. I am a fan. I am passionate. I am everything people seem to question. And I am worthy to be standing on this stage, wrestling you for the entire world to see… and make the XWF Universe realize that Angelica Vaughn isn’t here because she’s a friend of the owner’s forever fiancée or the taller little sister of a former Universal Champion. She is here… *I* am here, to be the very best I can be. Like I told Vita, wrestling is in my blood. And the money and the accolades and the titles are nice bonuses. But they’re not what makes me tick. The W is all that matters. And through those victories, I can prop myself up and make this world a better, brighter place for all. Lord knows it can use a bit of sunshine and positivity.

I hope you don’t take this friendly advice as a slight. I just want to warn you of the dangers and pitfalls of being a role model. Because you deserve to be one. Just know I will be coming at you with everything I’ve got. If you think I’ll be holding back, you’ll be underestimating me at your own peril. People who do that, they end up with a kick in the face and an L on their record.

So let’s go at each other hard, and we’ll have a cup of Kit-TEA after the match! I do hope you’ll like it. It’s a very special homegrown blend! N-E-Ways, I have to go, as duty calls! There is fun to raise! Se you guys at Savage, my beauties!"

And Angelica ended the broadcast. Today was still Lion’s Day. Raion’s Day. Saturday, however? That was going to be *HER* day.

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