[YTMA] Do You Even Lift? [Leeroi + Hemera]

[Gl!tch~]

She quirked a brow and granted Leeroi a quick look from the class schedule roster. "Are we?" After Leeroi's general attitude, Mera felt a little surprised that he didn't just continue on on his own. Probably just a matter of convenience.

"I wouldn't say no if you wanted my company." Which was, in long hindsight, still odd to say. Were? They...? Friends?

"Are you hoping for more opportunities to show off?" A light, friendly enough jibe.  

[zeflamigo]

Over his shoulder, Leeroi looked back at Hemera. "Always," He said, flexing an arm and winking back. It was a fine answer to both questions. Skimming the class rosters, he found an appropriate task to complete his strength training.

"Ready to grapple?" Leeroi asked, a fiendish expression in his glance. He put his hands on his hips and stood to his full height, waiting for Hemera's response. "No weapons, no icy bullshit, though." That part was kind of lame, but he knew it wouldn't dissuade him.

"Come on," Leeroi took hold of Hemera's wrist and started moving to the grappling room. "It'll be fun!" He laughed, tugging her along and not bothering to look back.  

[Gl!tch~]

She had to roll her eyes at Leeroi's show case, though smiled a little. How typical. And yet...endearing. Her mind was vaguely elsewhere so she was a little slow to catch up on the next part.

Wait. Grapple? As in? Her thinkpan immediately flashed ALG ads.

Ohhhhh no.

"But-" She was pulled along before she could voice her misgivings. That couldn't be the only option for this class! Leeroi must be thinking only about his preferences. Mera caught sight of the rosters as she was pulled along. It was quick. But...all she could see was more of that. Her pumpbiscuit sank.

Of course this had to happen when Leeroi finally was acting like less of an utter dunderhead towards her. What to do, what to do...

"Are you sure this isn't just an excuse to throw me around?"  

[zeflamigo]

Leeroi laughed again. "Only if you don't fight back, nerd," he flexed. He was expecting a good fight out of her- not that he would admit it out loud. "You do know how to grapple, don't you?" he asked, watching Hemera with a smirk. He started stretching out his muscles again while waiting for a response.

"If you don't know aaaanything, I suppose I could teach you," he laughed softly, trailing off. "We can even warm up first, to let you figure things out and all that." He was basically only talking to himself at this point.  

[Gl!tch~]

Hemera rubbed the back of her neck, looking around the room awkwardly. Plenty of other trolls around, slamming into each other and tossing one another around. She felt deeply, deeply uncomfortable. "I'm guessing it's not much more complex than any of these other brutish displays."

Where was the instructor? There had to be an alternative. "Can I just...instead? Do something like testing my stamina and ability to dodge you? I am not...the biggest fan of fighting, honestly. And even if I had a different opinion, the odds are rather stacked in your favor. I think I just had a premonition that you'll suplex me and laugh at me afterwards." There was no way in hell she could possibly lift Leeroi between the bulk and his metal arm. As if she even wanted to. What was she even doing here? Between the missed signals and being absolutely out of her element... "And not even buy me dinner to make up for it." Her face burned a little.  

[zeflamigo]

"Hemera, I'm laughing at you right now, and I'm sure I'll laugh later." Leeroi smiled, tilting his head to the side. "I'll laugh a lot. It's what I do." He brushed his hair back. It was starting to stick to his face from the sweat. He probably should have packed a headband, but it was too late now.

"It can be pretty complex! You have to know your opponents weak points and stuff if you're smaller." He laughed, posing with his arms. "Brute force does go a long way, though." He winked.

"And you're not going to win with an attitude like that! Come on! Be the underdog! The rookie!" Leeroi shook his fists with encouragement. "Loser treats the winner to protein bowls later! How's that for a challenge?" He laughed through a toothy smile, waiting for her to make a move.  

[Gl!tch~]

HP: 20/20
DMG: 6

"If the protein bowls have vegetarian options...I'll consider it."

Well. He had enthusiasm going for him, if nothing else. But she really...really didn't want to do this... If there weren't any other classes to try instead, then the training had been utterly pointless. A lot of it looked like pin holds. She didn't like it, but learning how to physically detaining people was more savory than, say, boxing. And it was their turn for the ring. Now she really couldn't leave.

But it still sucked.

On top of it, Leeroi was still missing everything she was trying to say to him. She fought so hard with her stupid emotions just for him to not get it. Frustrating!

Hemera flared her nostrils, sucked it up, and rammed into Leeroi as the match commenced, headbutting Leeroi's midsection. In that moment, she realized that she really, really had no idea what she was doing.  

[zeflamigo]

HP: 14/20
DMG: 1

Hemera immediately knocked the wind out of him. He stumbled backwards, trying to recompose himself and breath normally. A headbutt? He couldn't help but think of his lusus. Of course, he'd also stolen that move from her, but he really didn't want to be thinking of his stranger goat mother in this situation.

"That's not-" He took a breath. "That's not grappling at all." He emphasized, standing back into his defensive posture. "It's like wrestling, Hemera. You have wrestled before, haven't you?" Leeroi said, with a confused expression. He supposed he had to demonstrate.

In a quick move, Leeroi leapt forward, hooking an arm under her leg, then grabbing and pushing forward on her shoulder. He hoped the momentum would push them both down onto the mat.  

[Gl!tch~]

HP: 19/20 Only 19 but my mind is older
DMG: 6

Oof! She went down, face burning a little more at Leeroi's candid comment. Wrestling... Wrestling... Mera hated those ads, finding them stupid and glorifying unnecessary violence. And yet. Here she was. She would have to remember those clips. Mera dug through the limited memories. At least ads had repetition to them; throwing people down (no) jumping off the side of the ring (no!) pinning.

Ah.

Hemera, muscles still burning, shoved Leeroi back as hard as she could despite the pain, angled it to roll him over, and rolled on top with her own pin, trying to hold him to the ground as she did so. A poor attempt at mimicry, but she was...trying. And she was up close. Hm.

Already caught up in terrible decisions, no out, and no idea how to use her words, she went for broke. Mera went in for a kiss.

Upon breaking it off, she sat back a little victoriously, wiping her brow. "How am I doing with those weak points, coach?"  

[zeflamigo]

HP: 8/20

Hemera managed to flip him. The blueblood was visibly impressed, and he looked like he was having fun. He had to keep himself from laughing, looking up at Hemera from this view. He knew she wouldn't like it. She never liked it when he poked fun like that. But then, she dived in closer.

Cold lips met Leeroi's and for a short moment, he froze. This was... this was not what he expected. He accepted the kiss, falling short of reciprocating it. His halting confusion was quickly replaced with anger. That was a cheap shot and she knew it. What kind of troll played with others emotions like that?

"That's- that's not grappling!" Leeroi sputtered, face turning a bright shade of blue. He squirmed, fighting to flip the fight back into his favor.  

[Gl!tch~]

HP: 16/20
DMG: 0

She caught the blush, even as her back hit the mat again. Mera winced, but the pain lessened with the look on Leeroi's face. Got 'im. After the false starts, the embarrassment in dealing with her s**t... Maybe she was finally? Getting something across?

He didn't just get up and leave, so.

"And I'm sure you'll be all too happy to show me how to do it right," she stated. "If you're not too flustered, that is. But that is a pretty good look on you, Furore." Not that her face was much better. Even so, Mera tried to push back, not just going to let Leeroi stay on top of her, but found no give this time. She was...admittedly getting pretty sore.

"I do request that you don't crush me during all this, by the way."  

[zeflamigo]

HP: 8/20

"And I'm sure you'll be all too happy to show me how to do it right,"

Leeroi sputtered. The fighting or the kiss? All of the wires were crossing in Leeroi's brain, and his distress was plain on his face. He simply didn't have the ability to come up with a witty retort like this. Hemera had him beaten, at least in intelligence. He didn't like that.

"There's no way I'm going easy on you," was all he managed to think to say. He leaned in, not giving up.  

[Gl!tch~]

HP: 16/20
DMG: 0

As much as Mera found his reaction to be utterly vindicating fascinating, she couldn't help but cry at at the increasing pressure. She expected pain, but the intensity was more than she expected, so quickly, too. Though, really, poking Leeroi like this. How else would it have gone?

She grunted, still trapped underneath him. "I thought we were warming up."  

[zeflamigo]

08/20
4 DMG

Were they warming up? ********. Leeroi couldn't remember. He was so entrenched in winning now, he could barely remember what he was doing. Grappling? Grappling. He was winning. But was he going too hard? Was she just trying to trick him again? He wasn't willing to be deceived again.

Leeroi leaned in closer, whispering low. "You're welcome to tap out any time," He taunted, giving a small smirk.  

[Gl!tch~]

HP: 12/20
DMG: 6

Hemera shivered at Leeroi's voice. That level of intimidating he rarely hit, that she realized that she kind of really liked. Well, it pissed her off, but it was also different from that. Complicated feelings. Feelings she had been struggling with more and more as she had to think about them. A frustrating, violent boy. Horrible how her tastes apparently turned out to be. But maybe that's the clear sign that it was black. Hm.

Back to the present: Leeroi talking low and intimidatingly was attractive, but she was still getting tired of being stuck under him. She wasn't going to give up now, especially after he literally dragged her into this!

"You...wish..." she growled, wiggling and pushing until finally, some give. She headbutted in again, then held it, using the momentum to force Leeroi up. She wrapped her arms around his body, slowly, slowly made her way to her feet even though she knew Leeroi outweighed her.

There was no way in hell she could completely lift him above her head, but she managed enough to get up and toss him back down, though she wobbled a little after. Hemera needed to hydrate, and soon.

In the meantime, she wiped the side of her mouth, looking down at him as she panted. She arched a pointed brow.

"Am I finally becoming the underdog you were hoping for?"