Meeting Alister (Gabe)

As he walked into the Garden he nodded to himself and sent a text to Gabe, he had decided to change the meeting spot to the flower garden area, granted it was still a park just a different one, but he sent directions as well. He was clearly dressed as a male and actually held himself in a much more masculine manner as he waited, his hair loose and his red eyes in full prominence but he took the time to find a nice bench and sat down on it unlike the other three he was much less formal and a bit more crass then the others and as he waited he took out a small package of jerky from his pocket. He wasn't one to enjoy cookies and he was rarely out long enough to really just enjoy the snack times like this.

Things had always been rather hectic, he was glad to have Trinity around to help get them all organized and moving with purpose, something had been nagging at him after the blowup on that breakfast meeting and it was what Gabe had said, it rubbed him the wrong way that he thought of them as only things there to hurt Nola, they had talked about it a bit but they still needed to have some words about other things

For once, Gabe wasn't exactly wearing a well-tailored suit or anything of the sort. He decided to give himself a day off after find out the casino performances, so when it comes to clothing, Gabe was actually wearing something a bit more casual. His hair was also a little messy, almost as if he didnt bother to comb through it. However, Gabe still had his posture and demeanor, and you knew it was him from the way he walked.



"Alister right?" Gabe would say as he stood by and folded his arms. "You look well..."

the male looked up at Gabe, raising an eyebrow, honestly surprised he was able to tell it was him, he looked almost nothing like the others he had met before, he was looking fully masculine at the moment his clothing and hairstyle were both very masculine. he looked Gabe over and shook his head "Wow..I see what you think of me just by how you present yourself...you put on more glitz for the others...thank...good to know you don't think of this as our first meeting....though it kinda is considering" he grumbled as he lazily got to his feet, looking not overly impressed with the sloppy look of gabe at the moment, considering he had only seen him looking the other way before it was probably understandable.

His eyes had a sharp look to them, they always seemed to be scanning around for something, a suspicious and aggressive look to them, even if his stance seemed to give off the feeling that he was not paying attention at all in contrast to his eyes. he also tended to slouch a bit but not enough to where it was going to mess with his overall posture "So you wanted to get to know us...so lets get to know us...come on.." he said as he gestured for him to follow, and he started to walk, he really wasn't going anywhere in particular but he just felt like walking and talking.

One thing Gabe would notice the most though, was that unlike Trinity Alister didn't seem to bring along a lot of things, Trinity was always seen with a large rolling suitcase or instrument case, and a backpack, full of things to cover any need she might have while out, Alister didn't even have a backpack, just himself out side.

Glitz? Is there something wrong with my attire?" Gabe picked it out of a catalog that Athena was looking at, thinking she liked it when guys wore the popular things. "This is actually a pretty pricey jacket, i just thought it would be more wholesome to dress casually on my day off. Sorry to disappoint.... but it's not a date is it?" Gabe would say with a small wink as he relaxed his posture for a bit.

"What do i want to know? What is your story in all of this? I'm pretty sure you have your own hopes..dreams..hobbies.... regardless of how much you love your sisters. The problem i had with you originally is that i couldn't fully grasp your individuality. I want to know if im talking to alister, if who im getting to know is alister, not Nola showing off her world class acting. You understand what im saying? "

Atleast he was direct. " So.. from birth and now.. what did you see through your set of eyes? Experienced? Valued?"

Alister looked at Gabe and rolled his eyes at the way the man explained it away, even asking if they were on a date this clearly irritated the boy "We are not on a date. I assumed you wanted to make a proper first impression...did you decide to wear that because it was what you wanted to wear? or because it was fashionable? the way a person dresses tells you a lot about them after all, nothing to deep but at least it tells you things that the person themselves might not" he continued walking along side Gabe listening to his rant about things, wanting to know all about him? that was going a little out there wasn't it? he couldn't tell him everything out in the park where people could over her him, but he could answer most of it.

"By necessity I can't tell you everything hopefully you understand that, but I am Alister no one else so get that strait..suggesting otherwise is insulting..." he said looking over his shoulder at him, but as they walked he shook his head at the next question "I have seen all the same things, we work...differently...I think you need to understand that first....or your just going to say somethign that crams your foot firmly in your own mouth"[/color] he then looked around and pointed to a rather deserted garden, where it would be easy to see people coming up to them, it would make talking easier "over there..." thankfully their seemed to be a bench there as well so he headed over and sat down, stretching out quite a bit as he looked at Gabe and waited for him to join him.

"Does it? I think clothes are rather superficial. If you maintain that perception, I wonder what your interpretation of a nudist Harvard scholar would be?" Testing the boundaries of what someone originally things, then flipping the script. It was one of Gabe's favorite things to do, he enjoyed the reactions he could get out of people. Or maybe, the very image of forcing someone to think was what he really enjoyed.

Gabe then followed Alister and sat on the same bench. "For the record, feel free to ask me some questions as well. But of course, following you example, if you can't tell me everything ...well... vice versa. " Gabe would exactify the conditions of the chat before they continued, but then gave the floor to Alister. "So... what "CAN" you tell me about yourself then? Who is Alister?"

He shook his head at Gabe trying to turn the comment back on him, and he rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed at the man for doing so "first you dodge my question then you throw it back in my face...nice first impression your making here....I am trying to learn more about you and tell you how I think and you start getting evasive and try throwing my own way of thinking in my face like this was some kind of game, and you were not talking to a person that you have insulted and threatened already" he only sat there looking at Gabe and then shaking his head once more.

"For your information a lack of clothing can't tell you anything about a person from their clothing, that is more about how the person feels ABOUT clothing, which wasn't my question or my explanation to you about why I asked, so if you WERE about to try and throw it in my face you failed, Second intelligence doesn't equal sane, and vice versa so the person being a Harvard graduate is a pointless detail...." he said clearly annoyed that this man that was supposed to be here to try and learn about him and vice versa was instead simply questioning his way of thinking on one topic as if it was basis for his whole being.

"And third, you shouldn't assume that one aspect of what a person thinks will color their entire perception of a person as if was the only dimension of thought that they had, it's one dimensional thinking like that that makes people devalue others and threaten their life simple because they don't take the time to learn anything about the person" now it was his turn to throw Gabe's own action and thought in his face, if he was going to start out doing that Alister seen no problem throwing it right back at him "Now are we going to talk like civilized people or are you going to try and insult me more with your stupid games?".

He looked to the older male as he then started to talk once more, so he decided to keep going with his question "Is it always your habit to expect the worst in people? Also I would prefer you just ask question, I can answer what I can answer simple as that so just ask....but answer my questions first when I ask them....your walking up hill here man so don't go thinking you don't have some weight against you..." he said as he looked to him clearly not about to let the man forget the insult or the threat on his and his sisters lives, not matter the issue, jumping to that conclusion was a horrible thing to do, he could have approached that many other ways he could have watched his wording before even asking that, the fact of the matter is Gabe could have done a lot different but he chose to do it in that order.

"I'm going to skip all that...due to the fact that it was just a joke....so....." Gabe just looked at the child, a child was what Alister was. Of course, Alister managed to take Gabe's humor and turn it into something more serious. Why? Why did it have to be like that? If the kind wanted to give himself high blood pressure, then so be it. It was something that Trinity had to deal with later. "I'm surprised you took it as insulting to begin with. You're pretty upright in that regard, you know that right? Or maybe i'm wrong fo trying to get a laugh out of you?

He decided to wave off the bad start in vaor of continuing at a better pace. "Alright, ask your quetion first then..."

Alister raised and eyebrow, was this guy fucking kidding him? he then sighed and shook his head as he looked at him "I have already asked you two questions...and you haven't answered ether of them...the first you tried to turn around and throw in my face, and the second you didn't even seem to pay enough attention to even realize it was a question it seems...and jokes are not jokes if the person your talking to doesn't realize it's a joke, or you put it in a way that could ether insult the other person, or you make it sound confrontational like you did with yours..." he said looking at him.

"As for being up tight....tell me if you had to hang out with a person that already threatened your life and that of your sisters wouldn't you be a little "uptight" especially when that person looked and acted dead serious at the time to the point where it cause one of your sisters to nearly have an entire mental breakdown?" he looked right at Gabe and waited for him to answer now, Gabe had an uphill battle here, but the fact he was here should have been proof enough that Alister was willing to give him a chance, the man just needed to be honest.

"Either i wasn't paying attention, or it didn't sound like a question to me?  Hmm........."  Gabe would sit back and think for a while. "Insulting you with stupid games, i already see why we aren't that close. Games are fun, games are literally life, especially if your life depends on it. You see, there is probably a lot about me that you don't even know. When your only talent is card tricks, there is only a handful of things that could happen.  Spoiler alert, none of them were good.... but i don't think the idea of games are annoying. Gambling is a game, afterall."

The next question was something  a little more personal. "Yes." Gabe said simply to the child's second question. "I expect the worse in everyone, nothing is genuine. Everyone has something to give, and that why there will always exist a person in this world who will take it from you. our true thoughts, the things we refuse to share about eachother. These hidden things... or heck... the things that were out in the open.... you wasn't discourage on revealing them or acting on them. frankly, i could say that were different...and the great divide wasn't the best for me. So, anything i do, i do for a reason. This is what your getting from me in terms of "personality" "

Again with the whole mental breakdown. "You and selenus are something else. With all the attacks and verbal omnipotence of malice you sent at me, was you honestly hoping for a reaction  out of me? All i stated was something that was limited to the knowledge i had.  On top of that even when trying to explain a similar occurrence that i didn't want to remember at all, r the rest of you to know because it was that private and i thought it was the same, it's not like you all could of went to separate rooms in the mind or put some headphones on.  As a matter of fact,  your situation is peculiar to me....because i can relate..and once i start showing signs for you to believe me, it'll be bad..for everyone else...details on that is off limits by the way. I made a mistake, thinking you was something you aren't....and yet you still hate me for it..don't you?

However, he survived, no matter what, and he will continue to do so.

"What is your problem with me Alister?

He rolled his eyes once more, the man just continued to assume things about him and he decided to correct him "There you go again painting things with a broad brush stroke, did I say I didn't like games? No I didn't, I simply called your attempt to turn one of my views against me a stupid game...big difference....and you forget I know what happened to you...I was there too remember?" he said looking at him was a not very impressed look on his face, as he heard the mans answer to the second question, he only shook his head, he was confirming a lot of issues the boy had with him.

Then the man had the gall to say they had malice in their accusations, and then the man tried to defend himself, rather then just admit he was wrong, and then tried to turn it around to make it sound like they made HIM suffer, then he said he made a mistake but his defense of himself, in his way of taking longer to do that, showed something else, it showed quite the opposite, adding that to how he looked at people Alister only shook his head even more and rather then looking angry now he simply looked disappointed and sad.

Finally it came down tot he real question Gabe wanted to ask, at least it seemed to be and so Alister looked back up at him "I am supposed to trust you...yet you expect the worst out of me...you...a person that can't even make an apology without defending his stance at the time...and spending more time defending himself then apologizing...I am supposed to trust someone that jumps at the first sign of things, a man that doesn't think through his actions and blurts out things that could very well hurt others?....do I hate you for the mistake? no...it was one that given the situation anyone could have made...what I hate you for...and pity you know...is the way you handled that information...how you look at your friends....at people that gave you their trust after only our third meeting...." as he got to the end he stood up some tears in his eyes as he looked at him.

"I am angry at the way you treat people that consider you a friend....and how you think your justified for doing it because of an incident that happened...and an incident we all went through....you think you have it rough...you know what I am and what it means...how about you try living with that over your head...so you tell me mister gloom and doom...what do you think makes us so different that you have to distrust us and expect the worst out of us? all of us?" he glared at him now, clearly not going to back down unless he got a proper answer.

"Let me make this clear Alister, you can't even begin to understand what happened to me. Yes, we can all lump in the general assumptions, minus my life being saved by an unbeatable snowman. However, there is a very distinct moment on that day, that's completely different than what you can imagine. In no way, shape, or form does this make me special. But what happened to me and you during the great divide wasn't the same. Nobody, not 1 person, can scale their pain and loss with anyone else. It's different with each person, so we can't hope to understand it."

He didn't challenge a green haired woman to a game of Russian roulette, which took an unexpected turn of an unexpected mindfuck. He resolved himself, all for the sake beating that woman at her own game nad leaving his family out of it. Look at what he was left with now, no sign of the family he wanted to protect, presumably dead, and all he had was his own hollow thoughts to show for it. Sometimes, Gabe was bitter, that side of him simply manifested around nola too often.

"What i expect of you is the same you should expect of me. We haven't even scratched the tip of the iceberg in the sense of what we are willing to do to get by, regarding our current predicament. We all have darkness in our hearts, not to sound like an emotional adolescent. But...it is true... in one form or another." However, Gabe was bit shocked at the next few words that were said to him. " You don't like the way i handled the information about you three? My only response is that one day, i can provide a good enough example as to why i reacted in the way that i did. But right now, i can't."

What made him think so differently? " Look, i feel for you, you have a lot of living to do. I have hope for a long life, but at least you are realistic about it. The hard part is over, but having faith when moving forward is what matters. " Gabe shook his head at the last part though. " I can't make sense of it, happened a long time ago. But that story i told you before, it has some weight. I don't want you to start listening once there is nothing anyone can do anything about it anymore, so atleast take my word for it. That's only expecting the worse, which i do doubt it'll ever come. But you are my friend, and i was wrong to hold you in that negative regard. The truth is, its incomparable, and i was wrong for thinking so.

"Oh listen to you being mister high and might, acting like no one can understand, well news flash no one can understand anything anyone has gone through even if it's similar, people react differently you asswipe" it was clear he was angry by this point as he looked to the man "Drop your holier then thou attitude, and stop thinking your past is worse then everyone elses, you have something I WISH I had, so smarten the FUCK up and don't ruin it for yourself by thinking your a special snowflake, but while we agree on that you seem to be mistaken in the fact that people can't relate completely....people can help others get through hard times...You think you have to do everything yourself and be all alone. well CAN THAT SHIT!".

He looked to the man the anger quite clear on his face, an emotion that Trinity, nola, nor Myrna seemed to ever show "You can change the way you react to things NOW you just CHOOSE not you...just like you CHOOSE to believe the worst in people, these are CHOICES you make not things that are forced on you....you need to wake the hell up and realize that..." he then watched as Gabe apologized, admitted he was wrong and he nodded a bit "Well first step is done at least..." he said with a grumpy tone to his voice.

He then looked around a moment and seeing as no one was around he looked back to Gabe "And don't you ever try to provoke me again you understand me? I'm not like my sisters when it comes to shit like that, and the last thing I need is one of them jumping in the way again like last time...so.... don't... fucking...push me...for their sake..." he said as he looked to the ground, he wasn't proud of his temper but he at least knew he had it, and hew knew how his sisters would react if he flew off the handle and might do something he regretted, truth be told he wouldn't have felt good had he actually punched Gabe, despite the anger he had towards the man he trusted him as much as his sisters trusted him, Alister was just more vocal about the problems he had with Gabe.

oho, wearing your heart on your sleeve is a source for other people to manipulate you. In order to get you to say things that have consequences, or act in such a way. It's a blessing and a curse to act out in a way that shows your true self to others, but not everyone desires to see that. Sometimes, all they really desire to see is what they want to see from you. So ..... if i may suggest..your initial response is to show them noting, never give a hint of emotion in order to keep them guessing when it seems as if they are pulling for one. " Gabe shrugged casually.

"It might seem random, but it's something i learned when i was younger as well. I provoke you, because you "Can" be provoked. You never took the learning curve of what i do. You are in a world where people that aren't your friend like i am, will set out to do malicious things for their own agenda. You have the right to not believe that this is helping you in the end. " Now that they got that out of the way, now what?" So...what's next? I remember a song you sang that was quite different from the others, and you ended up getting alot of slack from your manager. What was that about? Why did you choose that song?

"and there you go again throwing something back in someones face....tell me...if you keep yourself hidden..how do you expect to ever make real friends? they never get to see who you really are...what your really like...they only see the false front you project." he shook his head once more at the casual shrug that Gabe gave to to his own remark as if it had no deeper meaning then to annoy him. a sentiment that he took note of and made sure his sisters were aware of. the lack of respect for how someone was that Gabe seemed to show constantly...it was worrying....he would apologize one moment only to belittle the person in a new way the next..This was the person they had chosen to act as a leader of them all?

Then Gabe continued on, his own colored view of the world, where it seemed everyone was not to be trusted, once more it caused Alister to greatly question if Gabe himself could be trusted, he expected the worst of everyone, so what was the chance he would simply assume the worst of them and turn on them as he may suspect them of doing to him? His mindset was not one that should be put in lead, he knew that much, and all of his readings of tactic books and the art of war and combat told him that much. not that he had any actual experience mind you and he knew that, but he did see some of the sense of the writings.

Gabe then seemed to consider the topic over with, and Alister decided it was pointless to talk it over further. Gabe had made his thoughts clear, he didn't trust them, he expected the worst of everyone, and for all he knew he wasn't showing his true self to them all, he also didn't expect them to show their true selves to him at any point. this was all that Alister was getting from the way Gabe acted, his casual insults and apparently fake apologies, And worst yet he thought everything he was doing was to their benefit, and even going so far as to say that they may not believe it is. With that Alister just shook his head. more secrets being kept by a man that they were supposed to trust as a leader...he would need to talk this over with Tatsui and Selenus after he was done here with Gabe, he may have seemed more mature...but...it was clear he was...damaged..far more so then any of the others.

Alister's eyes seemed to dim as if he lost interest in the conversation, and he looked away as he answered "The Manager wanted me to cultivate a certain image for myself....it wasn't one that was me....the song was one I made myself but wasn't allowed to sing because it would ruin the crafted image he had been trying to cultivate...that's all" he answered as he then looked back to Gabe "Ether way I am tired...being out isn't something I do often...it's taxing...so I am going to go home now..." with that he turned and started to walk away, not even offering a wave.