[AU where everything's the same but Rosso's weapon of choice is a bigass pair of scissors—]
Today, I guess. I flicked my wrist and it sprang up in front of someone and freaked them the fuck out. [He's sorry but not enough to say "sorry", that's a word that he never uses. Nevermind the times that Adrian's heard him use it.] I don't have my flame back, good fucking riddance, but at least I have this.
[Monsters are strong. Monsters are powerful. Monsters are also vulnerable to other monsters and to things in the Wastelands, and Rosso's not stupid enough to think he'll be fine without a backup.
He hefts the scythe up effortlessly, letting the haft balance over his shoulders while he hangs onto it loosely with his right hand. The blade is, in fact, about the same size as him, thick and bright red and impossibly sharp.]
She doesn't usually give me shit I ask for correctly the first time, and she was so ominous about this, I thought I wouldn't get it. Didn't realise she'd just let me summon it like I used to.
[Adrian whistles low under his breath, then sort of...swallows at the way Rosso hefts the thing over his shoulders like he's lifting a bag of flour. What the hell Rosso...]
Don't that thing weigh like...a lot?
[Like he gets Rosso is a monster now so it's different, but he's acting like this is a handbag he's carrying, not a massive blade.]
I guess she couldn't come up with some stupid bullshit this time. I wouldn't question it.
[Rosso applies pressure to where his hand is currently resting on the handle and effortlessly flips the scythe up so that it sort of glides off his shoulders to a more upright position. It's at that point that he grips it properly and passes it over to Adrian to take, if he'd like to.]
You tell me.
[That scythe is, in fact, heavy. It's a huge honking slab of metal with most of the weight distributed at the blade, though there is some balancing decoration at the end of the haft. It's mostly a ton of upper body strength to swing and manipulate at all in the way Rosso's been demonstrating, though.
Adrian isn't a puny weakling. He isn't a body builder or anything, but, you know. He's strong enough. Even stronger now that he's a monster. By all accounts, he can lift things. He's a pretty good lifter. He lifts Rosso all the time.
So Rosso hands over the Scythe, and Adrian reaches for it with a paw.
THUNK.
The blade immediately sinks itself into the earth as Adrian lets it fall like dead weight to the ground, despite the fact that he was very much trying to hold it properly. It nearly pulls him down with it, and it's only the fact that his wings suddenly flare that he manages to stay upright.
...he sort of...wrenches it from the grass with some difficulty, but even then he's wobbling as he hefts the thing, what the fuck???]
Wh- this fuckin' thing weighs a ton, are you kidding me?
[Rosso laughs. Sorry. Adrian struggling to hold his scythe up is obnoxiously funny to him, even though it shouldn't be. He's trained to wield such a heavy weapon... and now Adrian can say with confidence why Rosso's so toned. Why are his arms nice? There's a simple explanation.]
Ha! For as big as you are, I would've thought you'd be able to lug it around. Guess not.
[Rosso steps over and just
picks the scythe up. Tosses it into the air. Literally catches it and lets it hang off his shoulders again.
Adrian shakes his hands a little before drawing his arms back to himself, propping his hands on his hips as he looks Rosso up and down, trying his best to mask his expression which is currently just so much "what the fuck". That thing weighs more than Rosso does, and he just threw it into the air and caught it like it's as light as a feather.
Like. Hello???]
Do you think I've ever used a weapon like that before?
No, probably not, considering you lived how you did. Scythes aren't super common where I'm from either — they're hard to use. [Said the guy who just! flipped his scythe up onto his shoulder like it was nothing!] Think they're considered old-timey now. Dunno.
[Either way, Rosso sure has one, and it sure is the only weapon he knows how to use properly.]
I might be a bit rusty 'cause it's been so damn long, though. You know how to fight, right, jagi?
Chill. I'm not gonna lop your head off. I need that to kiss.
[ew]
I was askin' because I'm probably rusty as hell. With the expedition comin' up and all, I need to be on top of my game. I could probably teach you a thing or two.
...
Bet I could pick you up and toss you like a ragdoll.
[He's not really against learning to use a weapon either, even if he's pretty sure he'd never be able to swing that Scythe around with how much it weighs. Like, Rosso acts like it-
Good, 'cause I wanna go all out, and I can't do that if I kill your ass dead.
[And he doesn't want to, either, for all his talk right now. With that decided, the scythe gets unsummoned with a wave of his hand.]
Are we goin' now, or were you busy? [ignore the tail wags that are like when you tell a dog you're going on a walk "soon" if the answer is not "yes we're going right now".]
[Ah yes. The Furred Creature Problems. Sometimes Rosso thinks he'd rather be something else but then again he has so much hair in general that there's not much of a difference... Adrian though, man.
Rosso is Already climbing onto Adrian's back though bye he wants to be thrown into the Pit.]
[Adrian snickers as Rosso just climbs him like a tree over here...he'll wait patiently in a way he would for no one else, his tail flicking as Rosso clambers onto his back. Once he's settled comfortably between his wings, Adrian will take the liberty to climb back up into the treehouse, climbing up the tree trunk that splits the middle, up to the loft so he can climb onto the roof.
Only then does he leap off, using the higher vantage point to give himself a chance to catch the wind under his wings as he falls, beating them once, twice...and then he's off, spiraling up into the sky high above the trees.
Adrian may not be as fast as a Vampire, but he still is able to get into town quicker than a car might. He takes the now-familiar route to a building he's visited multiple times at this point, though he will wait until he's right up at the front doors to land, just to give Rosso maximum in-the-air time. Then it's off to reserve a room for themselves, with Adrian stuffing his hands into his pockets as he lets Rosso lead the way.]
[Thank you, Rosso appreciates maximum flight time, his tail is having a fucking party over here. If he were fully in night form he'd have his tongue flopping out of his jaws; at least he's spared the ignominy of that.
It looks like these battle rooms are pretty large, which is good. Rosso expects this all to be a simulation in the second, but he's currently gauging mentally how to jump off of the walls and shit. Because that's a normal thing to do. "How can I kill my boyfriend but be hot about it?" He could never go all-out against the other Masters, even; they had healers, sure, but a healer isn't going to reattach someone's head if Rosso fucking cut it off by accident. Even then, getting punched in the gut by Gaia always really fucking hurt even in the aftermath.
Hm.
If Rosso's picking the locale, he's picking something he knows — or rather, letting the Cube pull the zone from his brain. The room will warp for a moment, digitally building his old traininggrounds from home, complete with the red gouges in the platform and architecture he put there what feels like ages ago.
Yesssssss.]
My old training grounds work?
[He asks, all while summoning his scythe like he'd done earlier — a flick of the wrist and a gout of flame. This time, he doesn't immediately put it over his shoulder. He's Serious now. Serious and Dangerous.]
I'll let you get a free hit on me. C'mon.
crying bc im literally a MONTH LATE to this for no reason help me
[Woah. Adrian knew Rosso lived in the Demon Realm for...a loooong time, but it's actually a little unnerving how MUCH like hell this place looks when it materializes around them. He stretches a bit, flexing his arms as he takes a step or two back to put a bit more distance inbetween them because, oh god, Rosso with his Scythe like that is uhhhhhh actually a little scary?
Yeah.
But they're in the Cube now, which means Adrian is able to change his form however he likes. It means he will be changing it, his appearance shifting again to how it used to be back home. He can never say it's one he's thrilled to have since it ruined his life, but he's lived with it for a decade of his life. It's familiar, and now that he's got extra arms thanks to Mana...the extra pair that appear when he changes isn't just an illusion. They are very real, as are the flames that appear at his fingertips, licking up his hands and arms.]
Works just fine. If you're gonna let me get the first hit, though, you'd best be ready for it...
[Because Adrian isn't going to hold back. He knows Rosso can take it. It means Adrian is going to come running at him with full force, and sure he isn't, like. A seasoned fighter by any means, but he's a shapeshifter in this form. The claws come out, and Adrian immediately goes for trying to hit Rosso head on, leveling a swipe of flame-covered nails at Rosso's chest.]
[Don't worry babe this is an illusion of something in Elrianode :) like this is just. his training grounds. That looks like hell. It's normal.
He does like bug Adrian. If they're going to freely transform, then Rosso will ditch the stupid dog features and go full demon-mode, tail and horns and all. The last time Adrian saw it was Felfri, he thinks, back when Rosso walked into his emotions facefirst and came out with a massive crush.
Rosso takes that hit without even backing up, staring down the far taller man with a stony gaze. Flame and claw "slash" through his shirt and skin, leaving wounds in their wake, but Rosso is entirely unfazed. Likely because it's the Cube, but because he's, well... he's had worse from Denif tossing him across the room in an environment where they could actually get hurt permanently. He's had worse from every single thing in his life, really.
Speaking of tossing people, though... while he's completely unfazed by the initial attack, he's quick to respond to it anyway, grabbing Adrian by the wrist and stepping forward and to the left. Then, with his full weight, Rosso wheels around and yanks Adrian by the arm and fucking yeets him across the room.]
[Okay, like. Adrian was expecting Rosso to dodge that, or at least make some attempt at doing so. This is not, in fact, at all what he does, and seeing the way Rosso's shirt tears and his skin flays open actually causes Adrian to falter, his heart dropping into his stomach. He jerks his claws back quickly, because whether or not he knows that their injuries (or even near-deaths) are not permanent within the Cube, he doesn't want to like...SEVERELY hurt him.
It is, perhaps, a mistake that he hesitates. Or maybe this would have ended up happening anyway, because Rosso's hand snapping out and grabbing him by the wrist catches him completely off guard. He's dragged along with the motion, pulled sideways and around-
And is hurled with such insane force that he goes flying like a ragdoll, hitting either a structure or the ground or something on the far end of the platform that causes an almost cartoonish explosion of dust and debris to fly up around him when he lands. That's how hard the impact is. And Adrian is pretty sure if this wasn't a simulation, he would be bleeding internally. Maybe he is, oh is that copper he tastes-]
U-...ughh...
[The dust settles, and Adrian is just barely rolling over onto his side, pushing himself up as he spits somewhere- yeah that's blood, he's fine- his antennae trembling as flames once more begin to lick up his hands and arms.]
[Rosso only half-falters when Adrian hacks up blood, like... he knows this isn't real, he's not actually hurt and neither is Adrian and he's sure as hell done worse to others before — but love is a hell of a drug and oof, he only meant to toss Adrian in a way that he'd go skittering across the ground and not collide with a fucking pillar.
But he shakes it off, because he knows none of this is actually... real. It's just like those games Nanami is always on about.
Immediately back to enjoying combat and how it feels to him, natural and like he's kicking all his instincts in the ass... Rosso's quick to move over to Adrian's side, but instead of offering a hand to help...
He instead tries to push Adrian back down to the ground by putting his boot on the guy's chest, leaning down and grinning at him.]
Adrian does not have the time to get up fully, not when Rosso is putting him back down with the toe of his boot, and suddenly the blood he'd been coughing up is forgotten. Maybe not entirely? But enough to leave him bewildered and tongue-tied as he stares up at Rosso above him, unable to get his brain working enough to form words.
Words are hard when your tiny boyfriend just threw you to saturn, and is also now stepping on you.]
Tch...you think....I'm gonna let you keep me down that easy?
[RIP Adrian, Rosso has not registered that there's a "NEW KINK UNLOCKED" dialogue bubble above Adrian's head or whatever. He's too busy being a shit. He hasn't even used the scythe yet.]
Ha! You haven't even tried to get up! How many openings have you had while I've been standing here, aegiya?
[Adrian could grab his ankle to take him off balance, or yank his arm, or even pull his hair... claw at his face which is Right There... but no. No, he's just laying there taking the steppy.
[Well at least Rosso hasn't figured it out and weaponized it, because if he had Adrian would be in 5000% more trouble. As it stands, he's still stuck underneath his boot and sweating, his wings buzzing from where they're trapped beneath him on the ground.
Okay, well. What if Adrian tries to do exactly that? Grab Rosso by his nearest forearm and just...yank him to the ground with him? What's he gonna do then, NOT fall down?]
[No yeah he's gonna fall down in a flash of cascading red hair, and with a yelp. It's enough to make him let go of his scythe, not that it matters since it'll float in place at Rosso's command anyway.
Adrian yanks him down and he's down, falling flat onto the stony floor of the simulation room training grounds with an "oof".
Rosso will make this into a struggle, though, immediately trying to get up so that he can sit on Adrian and pin him, because ? somehow they must have forgotten they were sparring and not being fucking stupid. They can wrestle for a bit and Rosso will jackrabbit kick Adrian in the shins, it's okay.]
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Today, I guess. I flicked my wrist and it sprang up in front of someone and freaked them the fuck out. [He's sorry but not enough to say "sorry", that's a word that he never uses. Nevermind the times that Adrian's heard him use it.] I don't have my flame back, good fucking riddance, but at least I have this.
[Monsters are strong. Monsters are powerful. Monsters are also vulnerable to other monsters and to things in the Wastelands, and Rosso's not stupid enough to think he'll be fine without a backup.
He hefts the scythe up effortlessly, letting the haft balance over his shoulders while he hangs onto it loosely with his right hand. The blade is, in fact, about the same size as him, thick and bright red and impossibly sharp.]
She doesn't usually give me shit I ask for correctly the first time, and she was so ominous about this, I thought I wouldn't get it. Didn't realise she'd just let me summon it like I used to.
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Don't that thing weigh like...a lot?
[Like he gets Rosso is a monster now so it's different, but he's acting like this is a handbag he's carrying, not a massive blade.]
I guess she couldn't come up with some stupid bullshit this time. I wouldn't question it.
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[Rosso applies pressure to where his hand is currently resting on the handle and effortlessly flips the scythe up so that it sort of glides off his shoulders to a more upright position. It's at that point that he grips it properly and passes it over to Adrian to take, if he'd like to.]
You tell me.
[That scythe is, in fact, heavy. It's a huge honking slab of metal with most of the weight distributed at the blade, though there is some balancing decoration at the end of the haft. It's mostly a ton of upper body strength to swing and manipulate at all in the way Rosso's been demonstrating, though.
Try not to fall over, Adrian.]
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Adrian isn't a puny weakling. He isn't a body builder or anything, but, you know. He's strong enough. Even stronger now that he's a monster. By all accounts, he can lift things. He's a pretty good lifter. He lifts Rosso all the time.
So Rosso hands over the Scythe, and Adrian reaches for it with a paw.
THUNK.
The blade immediately sinks itself into the earth as Adrian lets it fall like dead weight to the ground, despite the fact that he was very much trying to hold it properly. It nearly pulls him down with it, and it's only the fact that his wings suddenly flare that he manages to stay upright.
...he sort of...wrenches it from the grass with some difficulty, but even then he's wobbling as he hefts the thing, what the fuck???]
Wh- this fuckin' thing weighs a ton, are you kidding me?
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Ha! For as big as you are, I would've thought you'd be able to lug it around. Guess not.
[Rosso steps over and just
picks the scythe up. Tosses it into the air. Literally catches it and lets it hang off his shoulders again.
He's showing off.]
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[He's showing off!!!
Adrian shakes his hands a little before drawing his arms back to himself, propping his hands on his hips as he looks Rosso up and down, trying his best to mask his expression which is currently just so much "what the fuck". That thing weighs more than Rosso does, and he just threw it into the air and caught it like it's as light as a feather.
Like. Hello???]
Do you think I've ever used a weapon like that before?
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[Either way, Rosso sure has one, and it sure is the only weapon he knows how to use properly.]
I might be a bit rusty 'cause it's been so damn long, though. You know how to fight, right, jagi?
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He tries not to let it show in his expression, though his ears do fall back a bit.]
Uh. ...by necessity, but I ain't like. Trained or nothin', if that's what you mean.
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[ew]
I was askin' because I'm probably rusty as hell. With the expedition comin' up and all, I need to be on top of my game. I could probably teach you a thing or two.
...
Bet I could pick you up and toss you like a ragdoll.
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But also, aw.]
I mean...I guess you could...
[He's not really against learning to use a weapon either, even if he's pretty sure he'd never be able to swing that Scythe around with how much it weighs. Like, Rosso acts like it-
...]
Is that a threat?
[Or a promise-]
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[Rosso slots firmly under "will stab AS a warning".]
So come on. Do you wanna be thrown or what?
[oh that's what this is about now]
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Adrian snorts, his ears flicking forward. Does he WANT to be thrown, he says...]
Tch. I'll spar with you, sure. But it's gonna be fair if we do.
[He tilts his head up, looking out towards the woods.]
We're goin' to the Cube to do it.
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[And he doesn't want to, either, for all his talk right now. With that decided, the scythe gets unsummoned with a wave of his hand.]
Are we goin' now, or were you busy? [ignore the tail wags that are like when you tell a dog you're going on a walk "soon" if the answer is not "yes we're going right now".]
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[If that tells you anything.]
So...no, I ain't busy. I'd rather be doin' anythin' else, actually.
[Including getting his ass kill- I mean kicked.
Also, look at Rosso's dumb tail wag. How could he say no?]
C'mon, we can fly there.
[He knows how much you love to fly.]
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Rosso is Already climbing onto Adrian's back though bye he wants to be thrown into the Pit.]
Hell yeah.
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[Adrian snickers as Rosso just climbs him like a tree over here...he'll wait patiently in a way he would for no one else, his tail flicking as Rosso clambers onto his back. Once he's settled comfortably between his wings, Adrian will take the liberty to climb back up into the treehouse, climbing up the tree trunk that splits the middle, up to the loft so he can climb onto the roof.
Only then does he leap off, using the higher vantage point to give himself a chance to catch the wind under his wings as he falls, beating them once, twice...and then he's off, spiraling up into the sky high above the trees.
Adrian may not be as fast as a Vampire, but he still is able to get into town quicker than a car might. He takes the now-familiar route to a building he's visited multiple times at this point, though he will wait until he's right up at the front doors to land, just to give Rosso maximum in-the-air time. Then it's off to reserve a room for themselves, with Adrian stuffing his hands into his pockets as he lets Rosso lead the way.]
S'your Scythe, so you get to pick the locale.
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It looks like these battle rooms are pretty large, which is good. Rosso expects this all to be a simulation in the second, but he's currently gauging mentally how to jump off of the walls and shit. Because that's a normal thing to do. "How can I kill my boyfriend but be hot about it?" He could never go all-out against the other Masters, even; they had healers, sure, but a healer isn't going to reattach someone's head if Rosso fucking cut it off by accident. Even then, getting punched in the gut by Gaia always really fucking hurt even in the aftermath.
Hm.
If Rosso's picking the locale, he's picking something he knows — or rather, letting the Cube pull the zone from his brain. The room will warp for a moment, digitally building his old training grounds from home, complete with the red gouges in the platform and architecture he put there what feels like ages ago.
Yesssssss.]
My old training grounds work?
[He asks, all while summoning his scythe like he'd done earlier — a flick of the wrist and a gout of flame. This time, he doesn't immediately put it over his shoulder. He's Serious now. Serious and Dangerous.]
I'll let you get a free hit on me. C'mon.
crying bc im literally a MONTH LATE to this for no reason help me
Yeah.
But they're in the Cube now, which means Adrian is able to change his form however he likes. It means he will be changing it, his appearance shifting again to how it used to be back home. He can never say it's one he's thrilled to have since it ruined his life, but he's lived with it for a decade of his life. It's familiar, and now that he's got extra arms thanks to Mana...the extra pair that appear when he changes isn't just an illusion. They are very real, as are the flames that appear at his fingertips, licking up his hands and arms.]
Works just fine. If you're gonna let me get the first hit, though, you'd best be ready for it...
[Because Adrian isn't going to hold back. He knows Rosso can take it. It means Adrian is going to come running at him with full force, and sure he isn't, like. A seasoned fighter by any means, but he's a shapeshifter in this form. The claws come out, and Adrian immediately goes for trying to hit Rosso head on, leveling a swipe of flame-covered nails at Rosso's chest.]
i promised he'd get thrown so here you go-
He does like bug Adrian. If they're going to freely transform, then Rosso will ditch the stupid dog features and go full demon-mode, tail and horns and all. The last time Adrian saw it was Felfri, he thinks, back when Rosso walked into his emotions facefirst and came out with a massive crush.
Rosso takes that hit without even backing up, staring down the far taller man with a stony gaze. Flame and claw "slash" through his shirt and skin, leaving wounds in their wake, but Rosso is entirely unfazed. Likely because it's the Cube, but because he's, well... he's had worse from Denif tossing him across the room in an environment where they could actually get hurt permanently. He's had worse from every single thing in his life, really.
Speaking of tossing people, though... while he's completely unfazed by the initial attack, he's quick to respond to it anyway, grabbing Adrian by the wrist and stepping forward and to the left. Then, with his full weight, Rosso wheels around and yanks Adrian by the arm and fucking yeets him across the room.]
Gonna have to try harder than that, jagi!
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It is, perhaps, a mistake that he hesitates. Or maybe this would have ended up happening anyway, because Rosso's hand snapping out and grabbing him by the wrist catches him completely off guard. He's dragged along with the motion, pulled sideways and around-
And is hurled with such insane force that he goes flying like a ragdoll, hitting either a structure or the ground or something on the far end of the platform that causes an almost cartoonish explosion of dust and debris to fly up around him when he lands. That's how hard the impact is. And Adrian is pretty sure if this wasn't a simulation, he would be bleeding internally. Maybe he is, oh is that copper he tastes-]
U-...ughh...
[The dust settles, and Adrian is just barely rolling over onto his side, pushing himself up as he spits somewhere- yeah that's blood, he's fine- his antennae trembling as flames once more begin to lick up his hands and arms.]
W-what the hell...
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But he shakes it off, because he knows none of this is actually... real. It's just like those games Nanami is always on about.
Immediately back to enjoying combat and how it feels to him, natural and like he's kicking all his instincts in the ass... Rosso's quick to move over to Adrian's side, but instead of offering a hand to help...
He instead tries to push Adrian back down to the ground by putting his boot on the guy's chest, leaning down and grinning at him.]
Wanna try again?
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...o-oh.
Adrian does not have the time to get up fully, not when Rosso is putting him back down with the toe of his boot, and suddenly the blood he'd been coughing up is forgotten. Maybe not entirely? But enough to leave him bewildered and tongue-tied as he stares up at Rosso above him, unable to get his brain working enough to form words.
Words are hard when your tiny boyfriend just threw you to saturn, and is also now stepping on you.]
Tch...you think....I'm gonna let you keep me down that easy?
[He hasn't gotten up yet]
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Ha! You haven't even tried to get up! How many openings have you had while I've been standing here, aegiya?
[Adrian could grab his ankle to take him off balance, or yank his arm, or even pull his hair... claw at his face which is Right There... but no. No, he's just laying there taking the steppy.
Good luck buddy.]
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Okay, well. What if Adrian tries to do exactly that? Grab Rosso by his nearest forearm and just...yank him to the ground with him? What's he gonna do then, NOT fall down?]
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Adrian yanks him down and he's down, falling flat onto the stony floor of the
simulation roomtraining grounds with an "oof".Rosso will make this into a struggle, though, immediately trying to get up so that he can sit on Adrian and pin him, because ? somehow they must have forgotten they were sparring and not being fucking stupid. They can wrestle for a bit and Rosso will jackrabbit kick Adrian in the shins, it's okay.]
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