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Post by Delilah A. Black on Jun 26, 2013 19:50:46 GMT -8
In the gym/indoor training center where Delilah had told John to come when he was done breakfast (Delilah, for the most part, did without as she usually did), the Tengu all sat around stretching and chatting amongst themselves. Delilah was pacing the bleachers with a clip board in one hand with the other pressing her ear piece against her head. |
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Post by John Nemo on Jun 27, 2013 10:36:48 GMT -8
The door opened, and John walked in. His belly was full and settled, and having fixed the pain in the ass that was his door, he was ready to move on to the next step of his new testings. Eyes fleeting about the gym, he admired the handiwork and ingenuity of these Crows, at the amount of effort and possibly money it took run both a society and a resistance. He flicked up the brim of his cowboy hat, that being the only thing other than his ring and necklace that was normal of his attire. He wore shorts, revealing tan and muscled legs, as well as a tshirt. He figured that working out nearly named was actually quite comfortable, so he would give it a go in the next best thing.
Approaching the Tengu, he pulled down on the brim of his hat in hello, winking at the girl on the end with a smile before turning his gaze to Delilah.
"Well, yeh got me here, gorgeous. Where should we begin then?"
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Post by Delilah A. Black on Jul 1, 2013 0:03:59 GMT -8
As one, the Tengu turned their heads to the sound of the door opening. Birch, Heather and Talon all offered the brawny man a smile, all with their own meanings. The others, particularly Cain who scowled first at John and then Heather as she giggled at his wink, simply went back to their stretching.
As John approached, she offered him a quick, slightly harried smile before returning to the conversation in her ear. "--Right. Absolutely. Just make sure that we extend asylum to the children before group decides to leave, even if the adults don't want to stay. Yeah, give them supplies, but ration them accordingly, we have needs too. Uh-huh. Yeah. Yes. Alright, First out."
Delilah stepped down to where John was and slipped the ear piece out of her ear, nodding at his words...as a devious little smirk played across her soft pink lips.
"Don't you worry your Southern little head. I'll lay it all out for you lot right now."
She turned her head to the crowd of stretching people. "LINE UP!"
The Tengu jumped to their feet as though freezing water had been poured over their heads. They arranged themselves quickly in the middle of the room in a neat line, arms behind their backs. Delilah indicated for John to join them.
She herself would stride in front of the line, turning her back on the soldiers as she faced the south wall with them. She lifted her hands and put them together in front of her, as though in prayer.
"Gasho."
The other Tengu followed suit, putting their hands together as Delilah did.
"Shiken haramitsu dai-ko myo." she intoned.
"Shiken haramitsu dai-ko myo," the group behind her echoed, without the Japanese inflections.
As one, the eight clapped their hands twice, bowed to the south wall at the waist, straighted, clapped once and bowed again. As the Tengu straightened again, Delilah turned. The Tengu bowed to her as one before she bowed slightly in turn. She bowed at less steep angle and her eyes were up and on her students, just as theirs were on hers.
"Onegaishimasu," they would all say/mumble in their own way.
"Hai, arigato gosaimasuta." Delilah began pacing in front of the line, hands behind her back. That same devious smile lighting up her face.
"Oh Goodie," whispered Birch to John. "The Lady is in a good mood~."
"Good morning gentlemen and Heather. As you may have noticed, we have a new addition to our training session. For those of you who have not met him, this is John Suddenfeld, also known as 'Nemo'. He will be joining us as part of his training.
"John here is skipping the usual basic training in lieu of some...'volunteer work' to be completed in the evenings. As such, I have under taken it as a personal responsibility to train John myself."
Tengu exchanged glances with one another. None of them seemed happy, save for Birch.
"This, of course, will also serve as a refresher for you lot. But not the same-old tactics I used last time. No...I have a few new tricks up my sleeves now. You are all going to relearn what it means to be budoka."
"That means warrior," Birch hissed out of the corner of his mouth.
Grinning, Delilah kneaded her fist with the opposite hand, popping her knuckles. "Let's get started. WIND SPRINTS, GO!"
The Tengu took off, running to one end of the gym to begin sprinting back and forth along the faint lines highlighted by sharpie on the styrofoam floor. They were only allowed to stop until everyone was incapable of running any further.
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Post by John Nemo on Jul 14, 2013 14:00:44 GMT -8
John listened, absorbing what it was she was saying over the phone before she turned her eyes to him. He smirked.
"You really think I have a pretty head? Aww...you got me all flustered."
He would cock an eyebrow as she shouted for them to line up- this was more like what he was used to. His cousin had shouted at him many times over a several month period, yelling at him to get it right. To speed it up. To quick bitching and start working. He dug holes, chopped wood, and ran. He built sheds and houses, did pull ups and push ups. Then ran some more. So John would get in line without hesitation when she told them to, not waiting for her to gesture that he could do so. He didn't like being ordered around by someone half his age, but he couldn't lie and say that person couldn't snap him like a dry twig.
He turned his ear to Birch as he gave meanings to some of the japanese words Delilah spoke, giving a small nod to indicate he understood and would remember. Then came the fun stuff- sprints. John took off, running to the other side, likely out ahead of the rest, before running back. He had the stamina. His size was his only cause for worry. He ran again, and again, only he would actually crouch and touch each line before spinning and sprinting back, as he was taught in the run down school gym.
Runs like this-would take a while. Yet for ten or twenty minutes after the other Tengu ended their sprints, or were absolutely unable to continue, John would keep running, sweating like a dog. He wouldn't stop until he was told to stop, even though he would slow down to a jog after the others collapsed. He looked to heather and gave a wide smile- yeah, he had stamina. Just for her fyi.
OOC: Sorry for the wait.
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Post by Delilah A. Black on Jul 20, 2013 12:04:21 GMT -8
OOC: Prolly should've put this up at the beginning; NPC Boosts Crows:Tengu Squad: Strength: 10 -> 15 Dexterity: 10 -> 15 Constitution: 10 -> 19 Intelligence: 10 -> 15 Wisdom: 10 -> 15 Charisma: 10 -> 15 *Similar to Wolfpack, Tengu squad however had comparitively more focus and is specialized into a very small, very specific group of individuals. While not quite the status of Special PNPCs, Tengu Squad have been given a special amount of attention that the mods agreed would allow them the retaining the full effects of John Strike's training, as well as a +3 that Gemmy would be allowed to assign. She chose to focus purely on constitution... and so it is thus, for these increasingly irreplaceable numbers of this Squad. These stats aren't actually updated. Tengu should have a little more under their belt, but for the purposes of what we need it for here, we will use the above stats.
John would undoubtedly find himself surprised that Tengu, for the most part, managed to keep up with him in terms of speed and endurance. The two slower members of Tengu, Talon and Nigel, would be the ones lagging behind ever so slightly the whole of the group, but generally, everyone was just a wee bit slower or than John was. Gradually, after the third repetition, John would notice that the members of Tengu squad were progressively getting slower and slower. He might also notice that there were bulky looking things attached to their ankles that looked suspiciously like weights.
Roughly twenty minutes in of solid sprinting, the legs of the Tengu would stop willing themselves to function. Deadened by the lactic acid induced by the sprinting and having to haul up an extra twenty pounds per leg, one by one, starting with Heather, who was the weakest, the team would start to peter out. Gesturing for her team to start the next portion -- burpees, done in 3/4 time-- Delilah watched as John...just kept on going. Running and running and running. A small smirk pulled over her lips.
"Alright hotshot, get over here."
Ducking under the bleachers, the mechanic pulled out an old looking pair of leg warmers...with weights evidently sewn into the fabric, roughly weighing twenty five pounds each. She tossed them to him. "Strap those on. Time to even the playing feild a little bit, I think,"
SHE SAID WITH THE MOST EVIL OF GRINS.
"Back to it. 'Til you can't run anymore."
And once he reached that limit, however long it took, the next test would be burpees with the following rhythm; squat, jump, pushup, jump, squat, jump, crunch and repeat.
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Post by John Nemo on Aug 23, 2013 16:28:39 GMT -8
John smirked, before his eyes came down to what was in her hands. His smile faded as the cowboy turned around, looking at the ankles of each of those present. A slight bulge....so perhaps he wasn't as awesome as he thought. He sighed, then turned back to her and took the weights, going to each knee alternatively as he strapped the weights on each leg. Standing, he took a deep breath, then looked up at Delilah, grinning once more.
"Well, so much fer bein' leagues ahead. Way teh take meh down a peg."
He stretched a moment before letting out a groan.
"I'm gettin' a lil too old fer this, darlin'."
He'd wink before jogging back to his place, already feeling the tug of the weights. He started running, breathing deep as the weights did their work on his body. In about half the time the others ran out of energy, he slowed, came to a stop, and planted his hands on his knees, sweat dripping from his forehead. Of course, he had just run a ton previously, but still- he could tell this was not going to be the cakewalk he had hoped. As she ordered burpies, he shook his head- now he knew what she meant when she said he was going to be wiped out by the end of the day... He would return to the line with the others and begin, as she instructed, feeling a little ridiculous- he hadn't done purpies since he was fifteen.
Couldn't they just work out in the bedroom? That would be so much easier...
He'd mention it to her later.
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Post by Delilah A. Black on Aug 24, 2013 14:34:57 GMT -8
It wouldn't take long before the constant up-and-down motions made the already worn out Tengu collapse from a combination of Vertigo and lactic acid build up in their muscles. As the last of them wrapped up, Delilah went to the wall stocked full of training gear and pulled a six-foot reitan staff off the wall and marched back towards them. She would hold the stick aloft, bending forward to hold the stick at knee height. "Roll."
One by one, the Tengu would reluctantly get up and move forward and perform a short dive roll over the stick. The pace of this excersize was much slower, but was no less taxing, especially mentally. And Delilah would make it harder. After every round of people, the excersize increased in difficulty. The "bar" would be raised, she would start walking backwards and forwards with the stick to give a sense that timing was needed to complete the jump. The second someone touched the stick, or botched a roll, they were out, forced to do push-ups.
Nigel, Sergei and Nick were already out by the time the stick was moved up under her arms. Birch would seem to be having a grand ole time. Cain was scowling vehemently ahead of him, focused on nothing but the task at hand. Heather and Talon didn't look particularly phased themselves, but the ante was upping all the time.
How long would it be before they all messed up?
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Post by John Nemo on Sept 4, 2013 19:38:46 GMT -8
John was the second to last person to stop with the burpies, crouching and wiping sweat from his brow. He thought...he thought he was better than that. Than what he was demonstrating. Then again, he was also quite a bit older than these people... he didn't have the opportunity to grow that they did, either. He would stand with a groan as she brought out the sticks, jumping with each of them. After Nick went out, John would follow- he had never had to do dive-rolls before, and he wasn't great at everything.
Moving over to get down with the others and pound push-ups out, he groaned as he moved- not to complain, however, but in irritation at himself. At not being able to move quicker and do better. He would need.... to pick up the pace. As he walked by Delilah, he would speak quietly.
"Maybe when we're done here, we can have dinner. Might make me move a little quicker if I know yer waitin' at the end."
He would grin as he got down and started- up, down, up, down, up-
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Post by Delilah A. Black on Sept 7, 2013 22:32:36 GMT -8
Delilah's eyes followed John as he moved beside her to complete his push ups, watching him from their corners while Heather, Birch and Talon continued to vault over the ever increasing height of the stick, which was now held at her shoulder.
"Maybe when we're done here, we can have dinner. Might make me move a little quicker if I know yer waitin' at the end."
Only Nigel was doing his push-ups nearby enough to hear him, and he stopped to turn his head and fix his commanding officer and the new man with a dark look.
Delilah just smirked slightly with a small, non-committal nod. Once the last three Tengu had botched their rolls (with Heather being the first to do so, and Birch being the last), the raven haired woman cast the staff aside and moved to the center of the room, where there was a small, three foot wide circle. She would smile at her crew of Tengu (and John), standing in a natural posture.
"Your goal is to get me to move outside the circle by any means necessary. Your time is individual and unlimited; but if I knock you down or away from me, you lose and you have to run laps.
"Sergei, would you be so kind as to be the first one of the day?"
The older, half-scarred man sighed heavily at the request; no one wanted to fight the first when she was fresh. It always ended quickly.
He stood across from her at roughly two feet, and then angled his body sharply downwards, eyes downcast.
"Onegaishi-"
CRACK
Delilah's hand lashed out in a flash, striking him hard across the face with her fist. The man's body rocked a bit, but he stayed rooted to the spot. That was a warning.
Delilah raised her eyebrows in surprise, "Don't take your eyes off me. Any advantage I can take, I will.
"As you all come up, introduce yourselves for John's sake. Then, we'll begin."
Sergei straightened and sighed again, a large red welt already forming on the good side of his face. Pain in the ass. "Sergei Filatayev, age forty two. Specialty, stealth and close combat. I vas vunce part of Russian army.
"ONEGAISHIMASU."
A smile twitched the corners of her mouth at Sergei's vehement response. She also inclined her upper half, a little less steep than his.
"Onegaishi-."
As she suspected, Sergei took a swing at her, a fast jab aimed straight for her nose. Delilah gracefully dropped her lower half a bit further down, avoiding the jab--an uppercut came quickly up from beneath, and she had to swivel her head to the side to avoid it, but now she was standing straight again.
Sergei's strikes were sharp and precise as he danced around Delilah to provide her with no openings and try and create ones for himself. But he was hitting virtually nothing, with the mechanic twisting out of the way just in time, swiveling to the side, jumping in the air only to land in the exact same place, ducking, dodging, lifting, spinning--
After a solid twelve minutes of Sergei attacking her full strength, he started to waver. He'd landed a couple of sneaky hits on Delilah, one on her brow, one on the left of her collarbone, which had prolonged the fight considerably; but as he came in now for a snapping kick to her right ankle, Delilah pulled her foot away, and replaced it with a circular, clockwise motion that would guide his ankle away from hers, hyper-extending his leg and drawing him closer. The scarred man's eyes widened a second too late as the mechanic aimed a palm for his solar plexus, knocking him away and on his back where he lay for a while, trying to regain his breath.
Delilah let out a short puff of air and straightened again, looking sideways. "Time?"
"Thirteen minutes, eight seconds."
"Not too shabby, old man." she called over to him.
Sergei groaned something that might have been a string of Russian curses.
Chuckling, Delilah beckoned to the next challenger, Heather, with a smile.
The blonde would flounce up to the mechanic with a cheerful grin.
"Heather Bohnin, age twentyyyyy~. Specialty is...sharp shooting. I think. I forget what knife throwing is called. Anyway, that. I used to be a waitress!
"Onegaishimasu!"
Without hesitation, the blonde girl came in swinging. Her style was much more feminine, with tighter hooks and less movement. Fighting like a lady, though it barely looked like she was moving at all.
She lasted seven minutes without scoring a point.
Next,
"Talon McCagherty, thirty-one. Hatchet thrower, brawler, Featherer (apparently) and enforcer, I guess. I...used to fight a lot."
Talon, who had been with Delilah for a while now, lasted fifteen minutes and seventeen seconds. He came very close to knocking the mechanic out of the ring, but she proved to be too strong for him.
Next,
"Nick Bailey, twenty six. I'm good with bows. I was in the joint before the bombs."
With his polished boxing style giving Delilah a bit of trouble, mainly when he scored a hit on the mechanic that caused her to hiss through her teeth, he lasted fourteen minutes and eleven seconds before Delilah knocked him flying with a kick.
Next,
"Hello lovelies, Birch Valiant, ladies man extraordinaire~. I'm twenty eight, and I'm Mr. Do-it-all, though I REALLY like chains and sticks. Before the Fall, I was an actor."
Birch provided Delilah with possibly the most trouble. He was wily and sneaky as the mechanic herself, and what was more, he was berating the fuck out of her with hilarious and well placed jibes.
"Good LORD, you hit like a man. Why, from this angle, I can almost make out a mustache."
"Mercy, but I wish tic-tacs were still around..."
"Aw, feeling a bit pent-up, are we Delilah? How long has it been since you last--"
And that was it. Delilah couldn't find any openings in the wiry blonde man, so she made one and threw him across the room. He lasted twelve minutes and fourty eight seconds.
Next,
"Cain Howard, twenty seven. Close combat. I used to be a...well, if it's illegitimate and could get you ten to fifty years, then I probably did it."
Seventeen minutes and thirty eight seconds. He was ferocious, a trait no doubt fostered by the grinning, now slightly sweaty mechanic herself.
Finally, the large, muscular black man stepped forward with a slight curl to his upper lip. He glared down at the mechanic.
"Nigel Wright." He rumbled. "Thirty-four. Tank. I used to be a butcher."
When he bowed, at ever so slight an angle he may as well not have, he did not say onegaishimasu as the others had.
Their quick spar was brutal and bloody. He feinted and caught the mechanic in a quick cross to her jaw that made her stumble and left the corner of her lip bleeding early on. Similarly, she was almost literally tearing strips out of him with her vise-like hands. Whenever she dodged him, it was clear that Nigel's anger was steadily on the rise. One feint too many, and he had enough, attempting to tackle the mechanic off her feet. She saw this coming and jumped up, higher than she had held the staff earlier, and immediately brought her boots down on the middle of his back, pounding him into the floor.
She sidestepped off him, (careful to remain in the periphery of the circle) until he got up and walked off, staring ahead at something that wasn't there, but made him very angry.
Smiling (and bleeding a bit), Delilah beckoned to John.
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Post by John Nemo on Oct 2, 2013 6:54:17 GMT -8
John watched each of them step up in turn, bowing and introducing themselves. Each was actually exceptional in combat, and probably as good if not better trained than him. The final two gave him the most entertainment- Amusement, and then interest. He had sat, indian style, and watched, waiting for them to finish so he could step in. Once the final fight was done, He stood and stretched a bit, then walked forward, the grinning and slightly bloody woman motioning for him to bring it. " I hardly think this is fair...yeh got a healthy warm up!" Unlike most, he was not someone who would underestimate this woman. She was tenacious and skilled in the art she seemed to have perfected- the only real reason John was able to fight her to a draw last time was because he had the ocean on his side. Now, in a stand up close quarter combat scenario...he was out of his league. But, she wanted a piece of his ass and he wasn't about to say no. So as he came in close, before entering the circle, he removed his shoes, and once inside, he kept his eyes trained on her face. He would bow, bending his hips slightly but keeping his eyes on her face. He didn't say onegaishimasu as the others had, to which he would explain. " This phrase yer tengu use means somethin' ten them, and teh you. It doesn't to me just yet, and until it does, I won't dishonor it." A matter of respect and honor. Those things he HAD been taught. He would bring his arms up, hands slightly closed in a standard Krav Maga stance. He would wait for her to come at him, as he was far less confident in attacking and didn't want to be chucked out of the ring by her unreal strength in the first thirty seconds. |
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Post by Delilah A. Black on Oct 3, 2013 20:03:27 GMT -8
"I hardly think this is fair...yeh got a healthy warm up!"
Delilah chuckled somewhat wearily, "'Warm up', he says..."
He stepped, near, Delilah walking forwards to keep him on the edge of her three foot circle; the circle was only meant to restrict her. Nemo would be free to do as he wished.[/color]
"This phrase yer tengu use means somethin' ten them, and teh you. It doesn't to me just yet, and until it does, I won't dishonor it."
Delilah raised her eyebrows a bit. At first, she considered letting it slide...and then looked over John's shoulder at the Tengu, watching her with interest.
"'Onegaishimasu' is a Japanese phrase meaning, 'please show me' or 'please train with me'. Thank you for not using a word you don't understand. Now you understand," her eyebrows raised a bit more, expectantly.
Whether or not he chose to, Delilah would look over his Krav Maga stance and blink once at his unmoving posture. Her blue eyes turned back up to his, dancing a bit with amusement.
"This exercise is about you trying to knock me out of my little circle. Not me tearing strips out of you...not unless you're doing it right at any rate."
In other words, he was going to have to attack first, as she sure as hell wasn't going to.
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Post by John Nemo on Oct 5, 2013 12:11:27 GMT -8
John blinked once or twice.
"Oh."
He would lower his hands before trying to immitate, awkwardly, the pose the others had done.
"Uh..Oneguyshimasso, then."
His accent rolled the words in his mouth but...she got the picture. He would give a smart bow once again, before moving forward, hands back up. He would attempt to snatch out and get his hands behind her head, in a muay Thai grip. Once there he would try and throw a couple knees into the already injured Crow.
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Post by Delilah A. Black on Oct 30, 2013 21:03:34 GMT -8
The mangled attempt at speaking japanese earned John a small smile, but the real grin started when the big man's hands shot out to grab her around the neck--nice move. And not a bad one, given what he had seen, which was people attacking her from the front with strikes and blows; it seemed to convey a weakness for grappling, which he would have noted in their first fight.
Delilah was, in reality, a very good grappler, but her techniques for dealing with such a situation were almost always lethal. 'Locks' were not locks, they were breaks or dislocations; her Qi was also designed for close combat. She couldn't use any of these techniques in a spar or while training, as it was too easy to kill or injure someone, even by accident. So, the only thing she could do was to avoid the situation all together.
And so, as John's hands came close, the mechanic would bend lithely backwards at the waist, her body forming a delicate arc as she bent backwards. If his hands pulled back, she would snap upright again, remaining light on her toes for the next attack. If he happened to still fire a knee at her while she was still rising up, her upper body would swivel to the side, one hand coming out to hook John behind his knee and pull him in the direction of his momentum, which would put him slightly off balance. Then, one of her legs out flash out, aiming a stomp for the part of his leg where the ankle met the foot (to make him stumble back), before reverting back to her original posture immediately afterward. if he went through with the knee at all, that is.
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Post by John Nemo on Nov 25, 2013 8:57:45 GMT -8
Johns only thought as she bent backward was a simple one.
'Shes flexible. Niiiiiice'
His combative thought was quick, and decisive. The girls back was bent in an arc which was, while hot, a difficult position to retalite from. Shift out of the way of punches, maybe, but the balance left much to be desired in the way of fighting back. And at such close quarters, John had one choice. His hands were already there, which meant heir bodies were, at most, two feet apart. So, he would lower his arms a little, widen the gap between his hands and rush forward, hoping their distance would negate what he lacked in speed in favor of a quick tackle. But rather than take her to the ground or try and fight her there, he would try and wrap his arms around her midsection while she was at the apex of her bend, intent on lifting her body up and running forward several steps with it to slam it on the ground-
Hopefully on the ground outside of the circle.
If this circle were surrounded by knives and John were facing someone much stronger than him, Like delilah or even Barker, he wouldnt want someone like that left alive to kill his men. No, he would try and kill the man or woman the best and possibly only way he knew how- by sacrificing his own life. While true that tackling Delilah outside the circle meant that he lost, it also sorta meant he won. It would mean He got her outside, would it? John was way weaker than this woman. Way weaker. Standing in the circle and dancing toe to tow with someone whose abilities physically and tactically outdid yours...? Not a smart move, as evidenced by the many victories of those watching.
So, if this worked...he'd take what he could get.
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Post by Delilah A. Black on Nov 30, 2013 22:12:28 GMT -8
Instead of going for the knee strike like she thought he would, John instead opted for a tackle. Which was exactly the right move for this kind of situation, short of a falling crane kick or some such thing. Her position left her more or less off balanced, and rather vulnerable.
It was interesting that Delilah put herself in such a perilous situation in the first place, no? Rather...uncharacteristic of her.
And as John's strong arms lashed out to grab her, Delilah went in the only direction she could; down.
Her hands moved behind her and to the side to catch her fall as her legs shot out from under her. She would now be on the ground rather than a few feet above it. Likely, he wouldn't be able to grab her from here, not with the method he was currently using....but it happened so fast, that John just might fall on top of her if he wasn't careful. And if she saw that he was beginning to topple, she would twist slightly to the side, propping her hand against the ground to aim her elbow upwards slightly, around where his solar plexus would hit. If everything went to plan.
If he was able to pull himself back in time, Delilah would still twist to the side, scissoring her legs at the same time at his ankles to sweep his legs out from under him, and hopefully put herself back on her feet.
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