Laila Nazari vs. Prayuth 'Pray' Sakda - The Huntress and the Hunted

Match Type: Standard
Victory Conditions: Pinfall, Submission, or KO.

***

On the outside, everything looked normal for Prayuth’s entrance. He came out to his theme music, decked out with his taped fists and feet, his blue and black Tension t-shirt, and his Muy Thai shorts, looking like he’d just walked off the set of his more popular movies. The crowd waved at him, he waved back, it was all good. Nothing out of the ordinary.

On the inside, things were a bit different. More mechanical. More rudimentary.

Prayuth had a mental checklist he was working down, ticking off all the things his manager told him to do as he made his way to the ring. He took off his shirt and gave it some overeager fangirl in the front row, who took and clutched it tight like a newborn baby. He signed an autograph for a guy who was looking at his chest a bit too intently for comfort. He took a selfie with a woman who was, frankly, far too old to be taking selfies.

All in the name of good publicity, something he sorely needed. His time in Tension had been a mixed bag, right from the start. While he wasn’t unpopular, his failed showing against Giulia was a bad start, and it wasn’t doing enough to change the minds of people who believe he’d be just another pushover, cannon fodder for the male lockerroom.

What he needed was a win. A strong win. If all went according to plan, that was about to happen.

He rolled into the ring and popped to his feet, doing a couple of laps around the squared circle as his music faded. Tonight, he was going up a rookie, someone who’d never set foot in the Tension arena before. Nine times out of ten, that was a recipe for a pushover, someone who didn’t really grasp what they were getting into, and that could mean a nice, clean win for Prayuth. An opportunity he wasn’t passing up.

Even as the hubbub over Prayuth's arrival had died down, the audience settled into an uneasy murmur. Rumour had it that a completely new fighter would be making a debut in this match, but beyond that, no one knew who he or she would be. Even as the audience began to grow a little restless, however, a heavy metal theme began to play, and the newcomer came striding into the arena.

Spoiler:

Striding down the ramp, Laila Nazari's gaze focused on the ring. Even as the audience burst into cheers at the arrival of the good-looking newcomer, Laila didn't spare them even the smallest sideways glance, Laila ignored them as she made her way towards the ring. Her gaze was locked on Prayuth all the while, her expression steely and unreadable.

Sliding under the ropes, Laila hopped to her feet and stood opposite Prayuth. Her opposite number was, admittedly, pretty solidly built, with lots of heavy muscle, particularly in his arms and legs. His stance told her that he would rely a lot on fast striking attacks, and most likely, he would hit pretty hard. He wasn't bad on the eyes, admittedly...but Laila had come hunting today. She didn't have time for distractions.

"So...I heard you're the prey," she told her soon to be opponent, looking to see how he would react.

While Prayuth was still fresh and new to the AFW, he’d been around long enough to generate a general idea of who his opponents were supposed to be. Shorter women, mostly. Skilled, sure, and some of them could have some surprising power like Giulia, but he hadn’t come across any giantesses in his time. Most of them were normal enough that they wouldn’t stand out in a crowd, so long as they wore something big enough to cover their bodies.

That was not what came strolling down the ramp. Nope. Not even close.

At first he thought it was just a matter of skewed perspective. But the closer she came, the more obvious it was that, no, he wasn’t looking at her wrong. No, his eyesight didn’t need fixing. No, Laila really was that damn tall. Built like a She-Hulk, too. Just his luck.

Well, first impressions mattered, and he wasn’t about to let this one go to waste. Prayuth stood up straight and looked her over as she came his way, not wanting to show any of the trepidation he was feeling. Something about this woman’s gaze was more than a bit off-putting. She was all about business, that was clear.

”Not the prey, just ‘Pray’. All little early to be working on nicknames, though.” He brought his arms and knee up as she slid back, moving into his stance and taking position at the center of the ring. ”You sound confident, though. Think I’m going to be easy?”

Laila didn't reply at first. She continued to stare at Prayuth, not disguising the way her eyes were scanning him up and down as she folded her arms made quick mental notes on him-- visible strengths and weaknesses, the way he moved, his attitude, where he would most likely be hurt if she were to strike him. For all intents and purposes, she was visually dissecting her soon to be opponent, and didn't care if Prayuth realized that or not.

"Easy? No," she finally said, looking him in the eyes again. "At least, you had better not be."

She began to back away to her corner. "By the way, I'm going to tear you apart," she added in Arabic, before backing fully into her corner, waiting for the match to begin...

Prayuth was no stranger to having exotic women looking him over. It was something that came with the territory of being an international star. People were always recognizing him, wanting to come over and have a chat, sign a few autographs. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Prayuth was, however, a stranger to having women stare like at him like this. The look Kaila had for him would’ve be better suited to a doctor with a patient on the operating table. Cold. Methodical. Precise. There wasn’t any warmth there, and while he couldn’t understand a word she said when she walked off, he didn’t really need to in order to get the gist. This woman was out for his blood. All of it.

”Lucky me.”

Arms up, muscles tense, eyes forward. When the bell rang, Prayuth came out with small steps, cautious as she neared the giantess, not the least bit sure what to expect, here.

Prayuth may have been uncertain, but Laila had no such difficulties. Edging towards her Thai opponent, her eyes never left his gaze as approached him, her body bringing to mind a coiled cobra as she seemed just about ready to strike.

But no strike came, no explosion of movement. Instead, Laila raised edged closer and brought her arms up for a lockup, eying Prayuth on and seeming to silently dare him to tie up with her...

Now, this was interesting. Prayuth was used to his opponents being more aggressive, coming right, going for the jugular. He would’ve expected that with a woman built like this, who had this much size to work with. Why hold back?

Well, regardless of how little sense it made, that was exactly what Laila doing. Coming in close with her arms raised. A lockup. On face, it didn’t seem like the worst idea. She was bigger, but he had muscle to work with, too, and he had the male frame on his side. Maybe he could overpower her.

Maybe...but he had little interest in finding out.

He raised her arms up as if he wanted to come in for a lockup, but ditched it all the way at the last moment and dashed in. He was his leg up and shot it out straight, all the way, looking to hit her in the stomach with a teep and knock her to the ropes.

Laila had, despite herself, wanted to give Prayuth a chance. Despite his slighter build, the Thai guy was still pretty well built, and had a decent set of muscles on him. Laila had initiated the lockup just to see how strong Prayuth actually was, for him to give her a chance to actually impress her.

Prayuth took that chance, but not in the way Laila had in mind.

She grunted loudly as Prayuth's punch slammed into her midsection. Her taut midsection absorbed the blow, but it was still enough to send her staggering back, letting out a sharp exhalation of pain. Prayuth had a pretty strong punch, she had to admit. Stopping just in front of the ropes, she looked back at Prayuth, glaring at him with the brief, unspoken message of You just fucked up.

And then, with a vengeful yell, she would lunge forward to return the favour with a furious clothesline!

In that moment, right after the kick, Prayuth learned a few things.

Laila was tough. That wasn’t his best kick, no, but it would’ve put most women - and men - on their butts. Her? It just made her stagger, and it felt like her abs were molded from solid.

Oh, and she had a death glare and a scowl and she could move a lot faster than she looked. Pertinent information, all of it.

”Whoa!” Pray managed to duck at the last second, narrowly avoiding Laila’s decapitating clothesline and giving himself an opening. It was one he wasn’t about to waste, either, and he spun about on his heel and lashed out, sending a quick, whipping kick to her thigh, aiming for the meaty muscle.

Prayuth was fast. That much Laila was learning now as the Thai guy ducked a clothesline that would have left him floored and reeling. Cursing under her breath, she spun, already feeling annoyed by her opponent. Once again, though, Prayuth was quicker, spinning around and driving a boot into her unprotected thigh.

A cry of pain almost escaped Laila's lips. Almost. But the blow was still enough to make her leg wobble, almost dropping her to one knee. Instead, she was sent stumbling back, clutching her thigh. So far, Prayuth was definitely proving to be a handful.