Begone, I Asked For Gains [Brittany]

Though the night before was as convoluted and troublesome for her, the day after would bring some solace to the young terrorist's heart. As she often says, "everything is gonna be different by the morning". She wasn't entirely healed from the incursion into Invidia's lair and her own doubts about the role she chose, but standing idle would hardly improve her mood by itself and while the company of her dear ones would cheer her up, Brittany felt like being alone for a while. Not wanting to see any familiar faces for the time being, she opted for the only two options she could go without being spotted or chased down: the pool or the gym, knowing early mornings aren't usually the time people choose to hang around either locations. Thanks to her inability to swim (even if, the fact the pool water was colder at such early hours of the day served as one more reason to avoid the place), it was only natural that her next stop would be the gym, a very familiar meditation place.

As she entered the gym, the girl went straight to the bleachers, dropping her bag there, unzipping it, hands quickly shoving inside and searching for whatever that was on her mind. The cheery tune coming from her earphones (pinkish, just like her hair!) served well to the purpose to distract her. Perhaps a bit too much, as a second presence there was unnoticed to her eyes, albeit only for a brief moment. A sigh of disappointment came out of her lips, and as she took one of the earphones out, her connection to reality came back; with it, the realization she wasn't alone. There was someone else in the gym, someone who possibly thought the same: that no one would come to the gym so soon. Apparently they were both wrong. She should be stretching too, but that would ruin the first fun moment of the day: to watch the guy until he noticed her, only to have a glimpse of the scared/embarrassed face he'd make.

Alright, when Brittany stayed silent to watch the guy (whom she realized to be the one who helped her retrieve her cellphone, Joseph), she had a clear idea of how funny it would be the moment he turned around. She didn't imagine, however, the face he'd make would be so priceless. Not enough to make her burst into a laughing fit (and it's thanks to her current sour mood it didn't happen), but enough for her to draw a smile and snicker at the humorous sight of a flustered Joseph.

“Not really. Practice time starts way later for me but I thought it would be good to warm up before everyone else comes... I didn't know I would meet you here, of all people”, she said, trying to keep a courteous composure this time, though the look on her face could indicate, alongside her words, the girl was somewhat impressed. Her behavior and overall tone were much more down-to-earth and much less agitated compared to their first meeting, something Joseph would be able to identify with little difficulties. Her friendliness and certain degree of playfulness in mannerisms, though, remained untouched. “You don't have to stop your training because I'm here, you know. The gym is too big for the two of us anyway, I'm not gonna get in your way. Oh, aaand...”, her eyes seemed to scroll over him from top to bottom, only for her smile to acquire jesting outlines as she pointed to him. Precisely, to his shirt. “You might want to, like, check on it. It's on the wrong way around.”

Once Joseph went somewhere else, followed by Brittany's giggle at how hilarious was his reaction once she pointed out the shirt fact, her attention returned to her initial purpose of being there: the exercises. Adjusting her tiara in her head, she started with bending down so the tip of her fingers could touch her toes. Inhaling, exhaling... restart and repeat multiple times, perhaps too many times she even lost count. At certain point, Brittany forgot what she was originally doing, her mind trailing off somewhere else... to the moments the night before. It felt like a dream. Or a nightmare. Everytime she closed her eyes, the flashbacks were there to be relived. Invidia. Frogerio by her side. The change of attitude. The screams, the firing shots, the loud noises. Their invasion, their decision... Too real, too fresh in the memory that she had to scare herself out of her brief trance and focus on whatever else.

A breathless gasp and she opened her eyes again, in fright. She was at the gym. Stretching as she should be, though it took a short while for her to recognize the surroundings were, indeed, the gym. Good. For a moment, the cheerleader had forgot it, if only the solidity of the ground under the girl's feet reminded her what she was there for. At this point, Joseph had already returned, back to his own workout schedule.

“Are you part of some sports club or something like that? Or do you just work out to, you know, get buff?”

A cadet. A weird gleam run through her eyes that moment, as if she was hit by a truck, noticeable only for a couple of seconds (and chances are that, giving Brittany's awkward position, Joseph wouldn't even notice with so much of her hair down, covering her face; to that, she should be thankful). The moment after, she set her position straight again. Some messy hair strands were still there (to which Brittany made no effort in fixing or controlling) but not enough to block her usual cheery expression.

A cadet. Felt like a dangerous game to play, get acquainted with the enemy the night after committing a crime. Dancing with the devil in the purest definition. “Oh...cool. Like, it's nice that there are people willing to take the job no matter the risks. So that means you're now an authority I should respect? Mister Joseph.” If anything, she'd think the role fit him well. He had been polite and helpful to her the day before, the kind of behavior expected from someone who's in a position of power. Maybe the new job would serve him fine. Still, something about the prospect of turning against him in the future worried her from the start...

“I'm in the cheerleader squad. We make entering acts whenever there's a game scheduled. Normally we train at early mornings or after morning classes, it really depends whether the gym is occupied by another club or not”, she said, hands running through her hair and bringing the misplaced hair strands back in place. Once they were in place, a pin she kept in the pockets of her skirt was used to set a mildly loose hair bun, only to prevent if from falling down again during the next session of exercises. Apparently Joseph was humble too about his job. How admirable! “Then there's the model business I attend at afternoons... uh yeah, I don't really have the time to be a cadet. But I admire those who do!”

“Huh, yeah, somewhat... I kinda miss having free time, I don't even know if I remember a time when I, like, had the whole afternoon free...” As she pulled her right elbow back towards her head (another one of a basic stretch exercise, bending said elbow so her right hand touch the upper back, a practice she would repeat to the left elbow as well), her usual stare kinda vanished. Almost empty in distance, reflexive even, focusing some random point at the gym's walls. Something was definitely on her mind, but not for long. “But you know, can't really complain, things have gone well for me.” The moment after, she turned again to Joseph with the gentle smile before walking to another point away from the bleachers, but closer to the empty middle of the gym space. “Hey, what about your family? Do they approve of you being a cadet? I bet they are proud, aren't they?”

Deep breath taken, she was ready to do some more aerodynamic, practical exercises now that the warmup session was done. But… there was something odd in the way Joseph said it, something that made the girl stop whatever she was doing to just contemplate him, in a different way than just admiring his way with swords. Considering the piece of information he told her about his family background, it wasn’t really hard to come with a deduction. “Uh…If by “folks” you mean parents, relatives or, you know…family, then nope. I live alone, actually…” “They died a few years ago” would be a more accurate answer, but definitely not the most pleasant one. Regardless of the gruesome underlines of her past, the feeling was still there. The moment before, Joseph had said he wanted to be a cadet to “give back to the community”. Now, it doesn’t feel as much of an altruistic motivation at all… Traditions were never a good thing in the long run. “Okay, but… Is that what you really want? To be the first cadet in your family?”