Dog Gets Mad

[Dog]

It's a day like any other, when Dog beckons Rosco to follow him around to the other side of the inn, where the tents are. It's still open and public, but there's at least not spectator space on the deck.

"Hey Rosco. I've been thinking about some stuff, and I think I want some training from you."

He pauses for a second.

"I feel so... powerless sometimes. So angry. And there's nothing I can do about it. But you, and Dimitri, and Krond... you can all harness that power. I want to be able to take the rage that all Arluru feel and direct it towards something. I want to prove that my kindness doesnt mean weakness. I'm a warrior."


"So, yeah. We should punch eachother or something."

He waits, expectantly.

[Rosco Agassi]

Rosco is packing for his trip home when Dog appears. He tries to protest, but Dog moves too fast and he ends up jogging just to keep up with the long strides of his natural walk. There is no room for conversation amidst the rambling, a personality quirk that Rosco knows well. He smiles - (but when does he not smile when Dog is talking to him?) - and listens attentively, perched on one of the large rocks that surround the area.

His smile turns to a grimace, though he tries to stop it. The idea of fighting Dog is not one that appeals to him.

"Rudi will love that you're getting in tune with your heritage, and it makes sense with how much you've been talking to faerie, but does it /have/ to be me? I don't exactly want to beat up my boyfriend less than a year into the relationship— or, well, I wouldn't want to after more than a year either but uh, you get the point."

[Dog]

Dog is smiling as well, but it's more reserved than he usually is. This is a fairly serious discussion.

"I mean. On one hand, yeah, it does technically kinda have to be you,"--at this, he laughs awkwardly, "but also, I mean. I wouldn't want it to be anyone else, anyways. Once we've gone over what you can teach me I might turn to someone else to further my learning, but, like. I want it to be you."

"Don't worry about me, though. I'm made of tough stuff. I won't go easy on you either."

[Rosco Agassi]

Rosco raises an eyebrow curiously, but doesn't question it further. He's used to the secrets by now, and trusts that there's a reason for everything Dog says. "Are you sureee about that?" He teases.

Rosco doesn't give him much time to answer, either. "Here. Sit." He turns his body so he's facing another one of the rocks, and pats for Dog to sit across from him. "Tell me about the last time you were mad - /really/ mad."

[Dog]

Dog obediently sits on the designated spot, and is quiet for a while.

"When Franklin told me to get over myself when I snapped at him for dissecting the wolf spider instead of fighting. People were getting torn up outside, there was the mummy, the vampires, the shadows, the hands... and I come into the inn for some healing and I saw him kneeling down and cutting something up for parts that he intended to sell. I asked him how many casualties we'd have to take before whatever he was harvesting wouldn't be worth it anymore, and he snapped back with that."

He lets out a big sigh, and slumps a little more into the rock.

"Can you imagine? I came back inside, bloody and wounded, and he wasn't even participating! And then he told *me* to get over myself, and-"

He's getting worked up.

"Gah! I'm just So. Angry. All the time. And I can never DO anything about it. I'm just the fun, naive, silly arluru named Dog. I don't want to change that, I don't want people to think I'm mean or unapproachable, but."

"..."

"Yknow?"

[Rosco Agassi]

The angrier he gets, the wider Rosco's smile grows. He says nothing at first, letting Dog work through his emotions at his own pace, but then he hums in response.

"I struggled with that, too when I first got here. I've told you before but I wasn't always angry - I was quiet. I was polite and softspoken and never really had an opinion on much of anything - at least not one I voiced - and it lead to people thinking I was weak. Pliable. Easy to manipulate."

"There's no shame in anger, it's controlling that anger that sets you apart and keeps that trust between you and others, yet that's also the hardest part. It's so /easy/ to be angry, especially in a place like Holdfast; so use it. Channel that anger into something that can help."

He holds out a hand to Dog, pulling the much taller man to his feet before standing directly under him. He tilts his head up to look Dog in the eyes. Normally, the look is filled with love, an intimate moment before a kiss, but this time there is a wickedness behind his gaze - he has a plan.

"So, tell me, /Kahjir/; What. Makes. You. Angry?" With each word he steps back, the first time taking a moment to taunt him by poking at his chest. He wants Dog to move with him, to say it louder. He wants to get him to snap.

[Dog]

Dog listens attentively, nodding along. He remembers what Rosco was like in those early days, meek and reserved.

The thought of how much the halfling has grown during his time in Holdfast gives him pause. He's so proud of how he's stepped up, both as a medic and as a leader. And he's achieved those things by working with his anger, instead of repressing it.

He lets himself be lead to his feet, looking down expectantly. The use of his real name sends him reeling for a second, but the taunting gets him back on track.

"When people do stupid, dangerous shit for no reason. When I'm trying to tell someone something or get them to do something and they don't listen to me, like. God, The first time I was leading a combat squad and Kez was just running off out of position."

Rosco can see he's starting to heat back up.

"Fucking, practically everything Luis has ever done. He basically, fucking. Severed our connection to Faerie! God, when Rook was leading that mission to find Tem's camp and he just. Wasn't. Listening. Grragh!"

"When Val threatened to fucking. Kill your grandmother or whatever stupid bullshit it was unless we got her like a million snake skins in the fucking dead of winter on the mainland on a trip we never even *went* on as fucking penance for some shit that your grandma did basically by accident and sent that whole long letter and-"

He pauses, to take a gulp of air, clearly having forgotten to breathe.

"Mostly, what makes me angry is when people fuck with me!"

[Rosco Agassi]

Rosco doesn't bother to mention the facts he got wrong. Dog does not hate, these are petty things about friends he loves deeply...mostly. Regardless, he is getting angry, and that is exactly what Rosco wants.

He keeps walking backwards until the two of them are in the clearing, then he steps back up so he's just under Dog's chin. "Avalon. The friends he killed, the failed rituals to get us back. The people who wouldn't help /you/ get us back, those hours Yanna and I spent in the woods, terrified, because of bickering and stalling between towns people." He isn't sure this is true, but remembers Dog's complaints clearly. He fights to not lose himself in the memory and the fear it still brings him, this is about Dog; this is about anger.

Maybe it's about time Rosco felt some anger about it, too.

He focuses on some of his psychic training, so when he grabs Dog to push him to the ground, it is with power completely abnormal for him.

"Focus. Focus on it Kahjir. Focus on the anger."

(Bless grapple x3, Grapple 5)

[Dog]

Dog continues to intensify as he speaks and as Rosco listens, gradually getting louder and more intense. He's just starting to see red the way he does during a big fight when Rosco mentions Avalon and town's failure- at which point, he completely loses it.

So much of what he feels about the situation is guilt; having failed to save his loved ones, having failed to get revenge. But more than that, what he feels is anger.

By the time Rosco grabs him, Dog is snarling and bearing his fangs, hands flexing with restless energy.

He isn't exactly prepared for the grab specifically, but when Rosco reaches for him he reacts immediately, growling as he fights back against being pinned.

(Grapple 5)

[Rosco Agassi]

Rosco almost expects himself to be scared when Dog starts to get angry. He was so used to a life before Holdfast where he would have to slink away from tensed hands and building rage. The fear never comes, a testament to the trust he holds in Dog.

Dog isn't like the others. Dog would never hurt him, would never touch his family.

Dog was not like Him.

The anger begins to spread. Rosco can feel his vision go blurry as he remembers Yanna's terrified, tear-stained face. His hands tense, he hears his sister crying as the world crashes around him, he remembers his father's blank and uncaring gaze.

He lets himself go, and a wave of anger washes over him. There is very little running through his head but pure, unbridled rage as he loses himself in the anger he had been repressing for months. For /Years/.

He pins Dog to the ground with one swift movement, fingers digging into his leather armour hard enough to bruise.

(+ Fury 2, making it grapple 7, deal the difference in damage meaning 2 mauling)

[Dog]

Dog is still showing his teeth and fighting back against the grapple when Rosco taps into his anger and overpowers him. He's dressed down for training, not wearing any of his plate, so Rosco digs into him a good bit.

He's accustomed to combat and injury, so he doesn't yelp in pain when he gets got, but there'll definitely be bruises later.

The clear display of the power of Fury is a lesson that, when his mind is clear, he'll appreciate. It's as clear a demonstration as you can get, really. To be struggling at a stalemate, and then to have Rosco tap into that hidden reserve of power to be victorious.

However, just at this very second, Dog is basically just seeing red. Even the most violent berserker still knows friend from foe, but that doesn't mean they're very smart about it.

He continues to growl and struggle, grabbing at Rosco like the halfling just did to him. Dog, however, (and this is something that makes him *more* angry, not less) doesn't have that same kind of rage-fuelled strength to bring to bear, and so his grapple attempts are just as strong as usual; only angrier.

(Grpple 5)

[Rosco Agassi]

Rosco hangs on, his grin spreading. When Dog grabs for him he takes the moment to move his grip to his forearms, effectively pinning his hands above his head. He twists, bending his limbs far enough that they strain - it's definitely going to hurt in the morning.

He snarls, less beastial than Dog but still just as full of rage. There's a pause, a moment of staring at eachother as both growl.

...Then he purposefully loosens up.

He lets Dog win. He is still seething but the burst of strength is gone and a familiar jolt of pain hits.

"Use it. Use your anger."

(Under-call; grapple 2, Fury dropped -2hp)

[Dog]

He's straining and pulling against Rosco as his arms twist; achieving nothing aside from additional soreness tomorrow morning. He's snapping at the air between them - he's not genuinely looking to tear the halfling's throat out, but rather is just lost enough in his fury that he's trying to lash out any way he can.

He might be grumpy later that Rosco let him win (in a lighthearted sense, he understands why he did it, for training purposes) but right now the only thing he does is capitalize on the advantage he's been given.

When Rosco loosens up, the dynamic immediately shifts. Dog rolls, pinning Rosco the way he just was. He looks down at the shorter man and bares his fangs, partly in triumph and partly in red-hot frenzy.

He's not grappling to deal damage (instead pinning), but he's definitely not holding back.

(Grapple 5)

[Rosco Agassi]

The shift in dynamic knocks the wind out of Rosco. He gasps under the weight of the much larger arluru, yet he doesn't seem distressed. This was exactly what he was expecting, and the anger behind his eyes turns to a glint of pride.

"Exactly!" He praises hoarsely, "You're an arluru. You are powerful beasts, you are made to protect your pack. You are made to fight."

The taunting doesn't last much longer, the weight is getting a little too heavy and breathing is getting increasingly difficult. Rosco, content with the progress, shifts gears the next time he speaks.

"The threat is gone and you've won," his voice is suddenly soft, "now what? How are you going to put that anger away?"

He closes the space between them, pushing himself into the thick fur of his partner's  neck. It's the same way he often sleeps, impossibly close - warm, comfortable and safe.

"Come back, Dog."

[Dog]

Dog snaps and growls at the teasing, putting more weight on Rosco and pressing him further into the grass.

It takes him a second, after, when the halfling stops struggling, stops fighting, and stops taunting, to actually let the anger go. Dog sometimes goes too far against monsters, the hyper-focus of combat lasting for a moment even after the threat has passed. The adrenaline still pumping, just now with nowhere to go.

But then Rosco speaks, gently and with love, pressing himself close to Dog, and it all deflates out of him at once. He takes a deep breath, sighing heavily before he flops down onto Rosco, pinning him again, bonelessly this time. He's at least considerate enough to quickly roll over so that Rosco can breathe.

"Wow. Getting mad really works, huh? That's exactly the kind of thing I want to harness."

[Rosco Agassi]

As the fight finishes Rosco becomes increasingly aware of the damp seeping through the ground and into his bones. It is still late winter, and though some of the snow has melted the ground is far from comfortable.

The day is winding down, an early sunset tinting the sky shades of orange and red. Rosco turns to look at Dog, "Anger is the easiest emotion to feel - for me, at least. Being able to harness that is a skill that's not only kept me safe, but has also let me grow."

"It won't take you long to get there, you were born for this."

Rosco sits up then, teeth chattering softly as he pulls himself inward to try and contain some heat. Unlike Dog, he has only his clothes to keep him warm, no thick layer of fur to insulate against the freezing ground. "We should probably head inside, I'm sure supper will be served soon."

[Dog]

Dog turns as well, when Rosco starts speaking, to make eye contact. He listens with rapt attention to the end of the lesson, nodding in understanding.

He sits up as well, clearly not as bothered by the cold as Rosco is. It's less than comfortable in the warmer months, but his fur is a great boon during the winter.

"You're right about supper, and you also look like you're about to freeze. Let's go."

With that he stands and reaches an arm down, helping Rosco to his feet as well. He gives the halfling a short kiss, and the duo return to the warmth and comfort of the inn.

Dog knows he has a lot to think about, and a lot of practice to do. He's confident, though, that his Fury is something he's eventually going to be able to tap into, now.

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