Walk into Melody's dressing room.

Walking through the doorway, your eyes quickly take in the dressing room in its entirety while the rest of you shuffles forward.

The walls are bare besides an advertising poster for an upcoming ECL match card. A black duffel bag containing her ring gear is stuffed in her personal cubby, the zipper partially open to offer a glimpse at her all-black attire.

In many ways, the room reminds you of Melody: simple and straight to the point.

Speaking of……

Your eyes drift back towards the brunette, who is now leaning against the door, wearing a friendly (if somewhat apprehensive) smile.

Before the words come to your mouth, you suddenly notice her outfit, as opposed to the lack thereof back in the ring.

She has on a pink blouse with her arms bare, ending at her waist with a pair of yoga pants stretching down to her ankles.

Her bare feet play with a pair of worn-looking ballet flats, briefly enticing your eyes before they drift back up to her face.

You also notice her damp black hair sans ponytail, her unkempt hairstyle probably due to a post-match shower.

“You look nice,” you compliment her genuinely, crossing your arms.

“Oh, thank you!” She smiles nervously, blushing a little while twirling around a wet strand of her raven locks.

“For the record, though, when I meet a cute guy for the first time I prefer to do it this way, not you know, in my bra and panties,” she added with a giggle, shyly averting her gaze.

“Hey, I’m not complaining,” you smirk playfully.

Smiling at your joke, she naturally perks up with the ice now broken between you two.

“So uh, what’s up?” Melody asks with an eager grin.

You take a deep breath, before saying what's on your mind.

{if Won first match = true}"I just wanted to check in and make sure you were OK," you say a little diffidently, fidgeting with the doorknob.

Melody seems a little surprised, but she nods in appreciation of the gesture. "That's very sweet of you. But I'm doing okay. I'm a big girl, I can handle myself."

Satisfied that you haven't done any serious harm, you look back up at her. "You're not bummed out that you lost?"

“Well, okay, I am a little bit,” she admits. “Obviously, I was really hoping to win. But it’s not the end of the world. It’ll be a learning experience, right? Now I know what to do and what not to do. And I worked up the nerve to do some moves that I wouldn’t have tried before, so now my repertoire’s a bit bigger, too.”

"Plus, the fans seem to love your whole girl-next-door-gone-naughty thing," you remark, thinking back to the cheers that helped bring her out of her awkward, withdrawn shell.

“Oh,” Melody laughs. “That’s not a gimmick. That’s just me.”

You shrug noncommittally. “Well, either way, it definitely works. Keep it up.”

“I will!” she says happily. “Listen, I’ve got a training session to get to soon, so I can’t stay here much longer. But thanks for coming to say hi, it means a lot.”

"Anytime," you reply as the two of you part ways.{endif}{if Won first match = false}“I just wanted to come by to say congratulations,” you tell her, trying to put on a cheerful face.

But Melody sees right through it. “Thanks, but...are you okay?”

You sigh in resignation. “Not really. I’m happy for you, honestly, I am, but I’m also worried about my future in this league. ”

She nods in understanding. “I get where you’re going with this. You're thinking it's a bad sign that you lost to someone so inexperienced, right?"

“Yeah,” you say. “There are fighters out there who have been doing this for years. If I start losing this early on, am I just going to end up jobbing for people who are way better at this than either of us?”

She considers it for a moment, biting her lip cutely as she thinks. “Well, it might take a long time. There’s all that obvious stuff about training and practice and so on. Really, though, you have to remember that every one of those people, even the Champion, was once where we are right now: an inexperienced fighter trying to make it in a league full of veterans. If they could make it, so can we—so can you.”

You nod slowly, thinking of all the ways you can train to improve your skills. “I guess you’re right. It’ll be tough, but not impossible.”

“That’s the spirit,” Melody says encouragingly, clapping you on the shoulder as you turn to leave.

“Congratulations again on...kicking my ass,” you say with a rueful grin.

She chuckles, but smiles as she sees you cheering up. “Thanks. Come by anytime you want to chat again.”

“Of course. Thanks for the pep talk.”

"Anytime," she says, and waves as you walk out the door.{endif}