Kendall, Matt and Mrs Griffin arrived in town a little after midday. She was a little surprised to find that Mrs Griffin was bringing a selection of pies with her, thinking that food would be provided. However, she quickly understood when she got to the town. It wasn't like a carnival came into town bringing workers with it; the locals put on the festival themselves, which meant everyone brought something to the table. The tavern was providing the drink, the more musically inclined townspeople were providing the music, and pretty much everyone provided some of the food.

It was a lively affair, and it seemed like Millport's version of the New York Thanksgiving Parade. Everyone had done the work early, getting it out of the way so that they could all participate. Kendall had travelled a lot, and had seen many local street fairs and celebrations. She had to admit that she was more comfortable and better accustomed to black tie events held in museums or university meeting halls than street parties, but seeing the way Matt's face lit up reminded her of the year she had gotten her first microscope from her aunt for Christmas. She had a feeling that the only thing stopping him rushing straight in the second he arrived was the massive stack of pies that his mother had him carrying. It made her heart swell to see the twinkle in his eye. It was adorable to her to see that side of him.

"The refreshments table is just over there." She told them, taking their wares over to where the collection of food was starting to grow. She could see Matt starting to get restless. "Now Matt, calm down will you?"

"But they're signing up for the events already!" He told her with a little bit of a whine in his voice that was more than a little cute. Kendall was barely able to stop herself laughing.

"Now Matt, you know as well as I do there are always enough spots for everyone that wants to sign up." Mrs Griffin assured him, looking to Kendall. "I swear, he's like this every year, but there aren't any limits on how many people can sign up, and I sincerely doubt they would exclude the defending champion anyway."

"Defending champion?" Kendall asked with a bright smile, looking to her boyfriend. "Defending champion in what exactly?"

"He holds the current record in the bronco." Mrs Griffin told Kendall proudly. "Not to mention roping.

"I might have to see a demonstration of that some time." Kendall suggested.

"I'm sure you'll get plenty of chances." Matt told her, gesturing to where a young woman was signing up people for the games for the day. "There's the bronco, shooting, roping, barrel rolling...I tend to avoid the pie-eating contest though, the Fisher Boys pretty much have that sewn up."

"Matt! Good to see you!" A young woman called out, coming to his side. She had long, auburn hair, and was wearing a denim shirt and jeans. She threw her arms around him, completely disregarding Kendall who was standing right next to him. Kendall felt herself tensing up seeing this greeting.

"Isla, good to see you too." Matt responded, trying to keep his arms spread out as she held him, but he could see from her expression that Kendall was not happy. "Um...this is my girlfriend, Kendall."

"Charmed I'm sure." Isla said in an off-hand way, not even looking at Kendall. "So, is it just the usual for you? Or would you maybe like to join me in something?"

"I think I'll be good with the usual." He told her.

"So, what other events are available?" Kendall asked. They both looked to her, and let out a little laugh. The fact Isla laughed enraged her.

"No offence Kendra..."

"Ms. Morgan!" Kendall corrected her. Isla just smiled.

"Well, there's nothing here that's really for delicate city slickers." She told her. "Why don't you find a good seat and enjoy the show?"

Kendall just brushed past her, heading for the tables. She didn't really want to participate in any of the games, but Isla had just rubbed her the wrong way, and she really wanted to show her that she was anything but a delicate city girl.

The only issue was that now she had made it clear she was signing up, she didn't know what to sign up FOR. She had never ridden a horse, so the bronco was going to be at best a nonsensical choice, at worst, suicidal! She was a decent shot, but it had been a long time since she had fired anything other than a Dino Blaster to test them, and wasn't confident that she could get used to the recoil in time to put on a decent showing. She saw one table where the line wasn't particularly long, and decided just to go for that. She quickly got to the front of the queue, but as she was signing up, Mrs Griffin came over.

"Uh...Kendall...are you sure you know what you're signing up for?" She asked her. Kendall just looked to her, and then to Matt. She just nodded her head.

"Absolutely." She responded confidently. She was handed a number.

"Well, you just head over there when your number is called." The guy behind the table told her. "God help you!"

As Kendall walked away, the number clutched in her hand, she could only wonder if perhaps this wasn't one of her better ideas.

Over at the gym, Carl was overseeing the wrestlers and trainees all working towards their goals. Knowing that there was a show coming up, all the trainees knew that there was an outside chance that if the card needed to be padded out in a few places, then anyone that caught Carl's eye could be asked to fill in. While most of them were going to be working ring crew and security, all of them were hopeful for the chance to get their first taste of the business in front of a live crowd.

"For the love of God Mick, you work the left!" Carl yelled at one of the guys as he caused his opponent to stumble by grabbing and wrenching him the wrong way. He started to twist another way. "NO, don't GO left, WORK the left! The left arm! NO HIS OTHER LEFT! FOR FUCK'S SAKE! Jack! For the love of all that's holy teach this tosser his left from his right!"

Jack went over to take over from the guy he was working with. Carl looked around as he saw Alessandra coming in. He was a little surprised to see her. He knew that she was still upset over the mask incident, and he was worried that she was going to pull out of the show at the last minute. He knew he would be able to get someone else to wrestle Ricochet, most of the guys on his roster would give anything for that opportunity, but he was hoping that she would come back.

"Alessandra, I'm surprised...um...are you alright?" He asked her. "I wasn't expecting you...are you here to train?"

"I not know." She told him uneasily. "Koda ask me to come."

"Look, I know it's a bit soon to talk about this, but...I don't know how many people would have seen your face." He suggested. "We might get away with it if you just..."

"No, I know I lose mask." She told him. Although she was upset about losing that part of her gimmick, her sense of tradition was greater. Besides, in this day and age where virtually everyone could upload images and video to the internet instantaneously, it was unlikely that no one had already revealed her face to the whole world.

Just then, Koda came into the gym, carrying a large bag with him. He quickly scanned the room, finding Carl and Alessandra and made his way over with a bounding pace straight through the room. He rushed straight past Jack, who was applying an armbar to his trainee a little too enthusiastically just to make a point.

"And THAT is the left arm!" Jack told the trainee, who could only grunt as his face was being crushed between Jack's knee and the floor. "Hey kid! You here to talk about how we're going to fuck up Eddie for that shit he pulled the other night?"

"Later." Koda told him, getting to Alessandra's side.

"Koda, what you want me here for?" She asked him.

"I'd like to know the same thing." Carl added as he looked confused. Koda just smiled, fetching a chair and unfolding it, setting it down. He took Alessandra by the arm, gesturing to the chair.

"Sit." He told her, going to get another chair and setting it up next to her. She looked confused, but did as she was told.

"Koda, what you want?" Alessandra asked him. He put his bag down on the ground, and he looked to her.

"Eddie take your mask, he not take your talent." Koda told her.

"Well I could have told you that." Carl responded. "The problem is the fact he stole her gimmick only days away from the biggest match of her career!"

"You trust me?" Koda asked her. Alessandra nodded without question. She would trust Koda with her life. He started to unpack his bag onto the chair next to her. It was a series of pots and containers, arranging them. He carefully selected one of the pots, opening it up to reveal a coloured fluid inside. They were the pigments and dyes he mixed to create the paintings that lined the walls of his cave. He dipped his fingers into the pot, before looking to her.

"Hold still." He told her. "This be messy."

Back in Millport, Kendall ran for all she was worth, her feet slipping around as she was trying to gain traction, facing off against her opponent. The beast darted off to the left, trying to get around her, but she anticipated its movements, and with a huge leap, managed to wrap her arms around it, bearing it to the ground. There was a squelch from the mud and a huge squeal, but she kept her grip. A bell rang to indicate her victory.

"YES!" Matt called out as he leapt over the fence into the pen, where Kendall was starting to get back to her feet, holding a squirming, squealing pig in her arms. She handed the pig off to one of the judges as Matt scooped her up in his arms, spinning her around in excitement.

"I'm going to take that as meaning I did well then." Kendall giggled as he put her down.

"Well?" He asked her. "You only went and set a new record! That was amazing! Where did you learn to do that?"

"You should have seen the problems we had getting Koda to take a bath at first." Kendall chuckled, noticing the way that Isla in the background seemed to be more than a little put out. She was already happy that Matt seemed impressed, but she'd have been lying if she said she didn't get a little bit of satisfaction out of seeing Isla having to swallow her words about her. "In his time most of the rivers were almost frozen. He changed his mind when he realised we had hot water."

"Well if I ever need a hand rounding up the pigs, I guess I know who to ask." He responded, putting his arm around her. Kendall just pulled into him as he held her, smiling as much at the ridiculous idea of her running around on a farm after pigs as the fact that she had Matt's arm around her. "So, do you have a while before the bronco?"

"I do." He told her. "But...I don't think we'll get much chance to be alone."

"Really?" Kendall asked. "Why?"

"You just set a record!" He reminded her, pointing. "You have to deal with your fan club."

Kendall only just turned away from Matt before a swarm of kids rushed her, cheering and clamouring to be near her. She was already covered in mud from the pig pen, but as the town's children all swarmed around their new hero, reaching out to her, she couldn't help being acutely aware of their sticky fingers, and the faces covered in a variety of jams and sugar from the various treats on offer. She pulled her hands up out of the way, keeping the contact to a minimum, perhaps patting the occasional head that didn't look too unclean as she entertained her fans.

Matt watched on with a huge smile on his face as his mother came over.

"It seems the kids are all rather taken with Kendall." She told him. Matt just continued to smile, seeing the woman he loved surrounded by the town's kids.

"They aren't the only ones." He answered.

Back in the gym, Koda had been working for some time on Alessandra. She had her eyes closed as he ran his fingers over his flesh, painting on the design he had come up with in his mind. As he finally completed his work, he moved back a little to take it in with a smile.

His people had on occasion used dyes and pigments made from the local plant life not only to decorate their caves, but also themselves. In particular the hunters had used such practices in order to replicate the way the animals they hunted would be able to hide in the foliage and among the rocks. He was also inspired by his adventures as a Ranger, seeing the bizarre appearances of the monsters they faced, and how they were sometimes frightening. The thought occurred to him, the Luchadors masks dated back to battle masks worn to frighten their enemies...why then would body paint not work the same way?

It was not uncommon for wrestlers to use body paints in their gimmicks, much like Koda's tribe back in his day. He ensured he was happy with the result before he wiped off his fingers on a rag.

"Open eyes." Koda told her, holding up a mirror. Alessandra looked to her new appearance, while Carl and Jack looked on, uncertain what to make of it. Koda didn't really notice them though; all he could concern himself with was Alessandra, waiting to hear what she had to say.

She didn't say anything for a time, which frightened Koda a little. She shifted a little in her chair to get a few different views of his design.

"That's your idea?" Jack asked aloud, unable to disguise the scepticism in his voice. However, Carl was giving it a little bit more thought. He stroked his chin for a moment as he tried to think.

"Wait...I think this could work." Carl said as he considered it for a moment. "It's a distinctive pattern. It could work on a t-shirt or a poster...I can see it already!"

"But the paint, doesn't it seem kind of..."

"What about Prince Devitt?" He asked Jack, cutting him off. "When you wrestled him you said he was one of the best. In fact, I think I might still have the number of that girl that provided the oil-based stuff he used that doesn't smudge as much."

Koda just held his hand up to cut them off though. He appreciated that Carl was behind the idea and offering suggestions, but for him, all that mattered was if Alessandra was happy with it. He looked into her eyes.

"You no like?" He asked her. Alessandra just smiled.

"I love." She answered, before looking to Carl. "But if I have new face, I need new name."

"Chris Benoit, he used to wrestle as the Pegasus Kid, but when he lost the mask, he acted more aggressive." He suggested, looking to her. "He used the name The Wild Pegasus, to indicate that losing the mask was like unleashing him. Maybe we can work that into the character?"

"I have idea." Alessandra told him, leaning in closer. "I call myself..."