At this point, Cassiel is having enough fun (and...other feelings in the mix, which are distinctly not for the love of friendly competition, but it's fine, it's fine, it's fine) that winning or losing is a distant priority. They don't have much of a competitive streak - they left that sort of thing to others - and so the only thing that's at stake is their comparatively small amount of pride.

Which is about to take a beating if he doesn't move. He realizes a split second before it happens what Gabriel is about to do, forcing him to loosen his grip so that the force of being launched doesn't dislocate his arm.

Maintaining the pin is out of the question. Gabriel flat-out launches him and the best he can do is fall gracefully, manifesting his wings himself to right himself in the air and land lightly on the ground once more. Once again, they're back to neutral positions, more or less.

"So you want to fight me in the air now? I don't think that will improve your odds, Gabriel." It's a joke, mostly.