CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT Birds of a Feather

Raven Roberts

The Bird of Prey
EAW ROSTER
Messages
1,393
Points
113
Location
Atlanta, GA
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
May 5th, 2018
Tokyo, Japan

Layla Lockhart sat cross legged on an equipment box in the backstage area behind the series of cameras and spotlights setup and pointed at a large, blank white stretch of floor and wall which Raven Roberts was standing on, striking various poses for the cameras under the instruction of the photoshoot director, a portrait of elegance and grace standing out from the plain white background with a radiance that made her seem almost angelic. She wore a sparkling midnight blue singlet with what appeared to be brand new ring boots. The sleeves of her gloves ran up to the bottom of her bicep and she wore a set of wings that spread wider than her usual ones. She wore her usual performance makeup, with the addition of glitter on her cat eyes. Her dark hair was wavy and styled.

Layla couldn’t help feeling ever so slightly underdressed with how amazing Raven looked and the formal attire of most of the crew members but aside from a few odd looks most of them paid no mind to the small girl in a grey and black striped hoodie and a bright pink beanie hat with cat ears.

The shoot director, Brendan Dean, spoke up, “Okay, now let’s take the wings off, turn to the side a bit, look back… give me ‘mysterious’.”

Raven followed the instructions. She then asked, “So how many shots do you guys need for this?”

“Well,” Dean responded, “We’re getting a full spread of the winners from Terminus. We’re pretty close to having what we need.”

Raven looked curious. “But I thought we were booked here for a full two hours?”

Dean shrugged. “Just being over-prepared. Are there any shots you want to take? Maybe some headshots if you want to do some acting?”

The gears can be seen turning in Raven’s mind. The light bulb finally comes on and she leans over to look behind the camera set up. “Layla! Come on! Take some pictures with me!”

Layla looked up from where she was playing on her phone with a wide eyed expression. “Wait a minute, whoa whoa whoa…. Raven, c’mon, be serious alright? Who’s gonna wanna look at me in pictures like that? You’re the model here. Besides, you won the match last night, you earned the spotlight… until I get another shot at you anyway.” Layla added the last part with a playful, challenging smile.

“Seriously?” Raven asked with a knowing smile. “You’re one of the most low-key adorable girls on the planet. I guarantee if you punch your name into google on that phone there’s more than few members of the ‘I Love Layla Lockhart’ club to be found. Besides, we said we were gonna have fun together today before we have to leave Yokohama. And you still owe me snacks.” She winks then motions to the backdrop, waving the path for her friend.

“Curse you and your friendship snacks.” Layla stuck her tongue out playfully at Raven before she uncrossed her legs and stood up, leaving her phone on the equipment crate. “I mean if we’re still gonna be here a while I suppose but trust me, they already took the pictures people wanna see.” Layla assured Raven as she walked onto the backdrop area with her friend, waving a hand at the radiant Raven in her outfit then back at herself in her plain tank top and jeans.

“Pffft.” Raven scoffed at the comment. “Just one thing.” She pulled the beanie off of Layla’s head and fussed with her hair a bit. “Perfect.”

Raven turned to the photographer and said, “Our supermodel is ready.” She then turned to Layla and said, “It’ll be fun. Plus if all else fails, we have some pictures together.” Raven smiles gleefully at the smaller girl before turning her back and posing for the camera. “Now. Just do something cute!”

If there had ever been a human form of the phrase ‘deer in headlights’, it was undoubtedly Layla the instant Raven said that. What came naturally to the Ravenous one seemed as alien as Payton Darkstar to Layla who, after several long moments of staring blankly at the camera and feeling herself starting to go pink, the Warrior Princess looked between Raven and the camera a few times before bending her knees and, imagining she was springboarding towards a title victory, propelled herself upwards to grab Raven’s shoulders and haul herself into a piggyback on the much taller woman.

“Sorry sorry sorry!” Layla whispered repeatedly even as she climbed into her position, sure she had just done something incredibly stupid but after several seconds of stunned silence she had leaped, quite literally, on the first idea that came to her.

“Waaahhhh!!” Raven exclaimed as she tried to regain her balance. “Eh… not what I meant, silly. But this works too. Say cheese!” Raven says and then smiles an animated, toothy smile while holding Layla in position. The photographer snapped a few clicks of the shutter, bewildered by the two grown women acting like high school girls.

“You are way too tall!” Layla cried out, half worried and half laughing as she wobbled on Raven’s shoulders, trying to keep herself perched on the tall woman’s shoulders and only causing it to be harder for Raven to stay upright as she continued to shift her weight. “Cheese!” Layla cheered out, about a full five seconds too late for the camera.

“Yeah,” Raven responds, “that’s what my sisters and their friends used to tell me.” Raven smiles, but a twinge of pain is sparked in her eyes as she mentions her older siblings. “Put me in a sleeper for the next one!” She shouts, trying to move forward.

Layla looked down at her friend. “Wait, what? Uhh… sure, I guess…” Layla hesitated before reaching her hands down and wrapping her legs tighter around Raven’s shoulders, doing her best to appear to have Raven in a sleeper hold without actually putting any pressure on her throat. “Does that feel okay?” She asked, ready to let go in an instant.

Raven chokes her words out, “CAN’T BREATHE!!!!!” Before she giggles and says “Kidding!” She leans forward and grabs Layla’s arm, acting like she’s pulling out of the choke. “CHEESE!!!”

Layla for a brief moment moved to get her arm away from Raven’s throat before she realised she had been had. “Mean!” She cried, reaching her free hand to mess up Raven’s hair, giggling all the while and pretty much having forgotten the camera at this point.

“Hey! It took the stylist an hour to do my hair! And… eh. I was gonna put it in a ponytail when we left anyway.” Raven laughs and whips her hair into Layla’s face. She then stands up straight signaling for Layla to climb down. “Let’s do some different poses!”

Layla hopped down and Raven grabbed a hair tie, pulling her locks into a ponytail. “Ok,” said Raven, “now you’re going to be the model!” Raven motioned to the photographer, who had simply resigned himself to what was happening. She turned to see the petrified look on Layla’s face. “Layla, you’re not gonna tell me that you can go on an internationally televised show and perform front flip clotheslines and corkscrew shooting star presses like it’s nothing, but you’re uncomfortable modeling for a camera in a private studio?”

Layla had gone rather pale the instant Raven had made such a suggestion. “Yeah well… I’m kinda going too fast to remember there’s a camera….” She mumbled quietly as the camera was pointed at her. “Okay, okay…. Like Malice said, gotta be brave and show no fear. So… what am I doin’?” She asked the photographer with a rather blank look, hesitantly striking a pose as if about to deliver a superkick.

The photographer looked at Raven, somewhat irritated. Raven shot him back a scowl. She looked at Layla and said, “Try turning just a bit, like facing the back corner of the room, put your hands on your hips there, and set one of your feet on your toes with the knee to your front. Then look back at the camera and smile.”

Layla did as instructed and asked, “Like this?” Raven giggled and said “Fabulous darling!” in an animated voice. The camera’s shutter clicked a few times as Layla’s smile lit the room. The photographer looked at the results of what he’d just shot, then looked to Layla and said “Put up a peace sign, kind of like this.” He showed Layla what he meant. She looked to Raven, unsure if she should listen to the man who had just seemed like he wanted her gone. Raven simply shrugged and nodded.

“Wow,” the photographer said as his camera clicked a few more shots. He looked up at Layla bewildered. “And you’ve never really done a shoot like this before, right?”

“No. Why, is it that bad?” Layla asked, leaving the pose just as soon as she was allowed to and looking far more comfortable with her hands in the pockets of her hoodie and a more casual, slouched pose. “How do you do this all the time? Malice would’ve probably eaten the camera by now…. And the cameraman actually.” Layla asked Raven, frowning a little at the mention of her sister, fond memories tainted a little by her absence.

“Eaten the…?” Raven shook the comment off. “I don’t really do this all the time. I’m still pretty new to the big spotlight that comes with EAW. My mom made me and my sisters wear any dresses and outfits she could find and put us in front of every camera in a mile radius, so maybe I’m just adjusted to the situation? If you don’t mind me asking… wh—“

“Ok. Seriously!!” The photographer interrupted as he had put the images up on a flat screen television in the back of the studio. “You are the perfect girl-next-door, Ms. Lockhart! You have to come back for a full spread sometime! I’m gonna show these to the editor right away!” He then turned and ran out the studio door.

The two girls blinked. Raven then piped up. “Rude. Well…” she paused as she looked at the images and smiled. “He’s not wrong. You’re gorgeous, though I’m not sure when he expects you’ll come back to Japan just for a photo op.” She giggled before getting a bit more composed for her friend’s sake. “But as I was asking before the interruption, where is Malice? What happened to her? I hope that’s ok to ask.”

Layla averted her eyes, uncomfortable from the question and wanting to move forward.

Raven placed her hand on Layla’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you. Let me go change and we’ll get out of here. Milkshakes on me.” She smiled at her friend.

Layla looked up and giggled. “Ok. Make it strawberry.”

“You know,” said Raven, “we may not have our sisters here to support us, but we do have each other.”

Layla smiled and hugged the Amazon. “I love you too, Raves!”

Raven smiled and returned the hug to the closest thing she’s known to a real sister.

—————

May 24th, 2018
Washington, D.C., USA

Layla sat backstage at Empire, having just finished meeting with Kiki to discuss the following week. She’d normally be watching the matches, but Raven had oddly asked her not to.

Suddenly her phone chirped with a new email. She looked to see that the photographer had finally edited the pictures from Japan. She had begun to scroll through them when she heard a sudden chorus of chaos from the ring. She poked her head out of the curtain just in time to see Raven handed a tag team title belt by the Crowe’s Nest. Aghast, Layla watched as the chaos unfolded. She pulled her head back from the curtain just as Raven hit the Lost Beauty Brainbuster on the defenseless Remi Skyfire.

Tears welled up in Layla’s eyes. She couldn’t understand why Raven would do such a thing. Jaded Hearts suddenly came back through the curtain, walking with Kendra Shamez. They saw Layla crying and laughed before moving on. Then the Crowe’s Nest, now including Raven Roberts, walked back through the curtain. Layla and Raven locked eyes.

“Layla… I…” Raven stammered.

Layla just looked up at the woman she had trusted and mouthed “why?”

Suddenly, Jael Arcana-Rosario came back for Raven. “Come on. Time to go… champ.” She tapped the title belt on Raven’s shoulder.

Raven looked back and forth between the two, conflicted, nearly crying. After a few seconds, she followed Jael to join Chelsea Crowe in celebrating their dominance. Layla watched with tears streaming as her former friend left.

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