Alliance? [Afternoon; Frog x Brit x Gabe]

Posts : 2877 Join date : 2014-12-26 Age : 27

Frog had already told Gabe the last time they met that he wanted them to meet again together with Brit as well. He sent the man a message earlier in the day to confirm he was free so they could come over, and now there they were at the door.

Honestly Frog had a slightly bad feeling about this, but he shrugged it off to feeling anxious about another fight breaking out between them. Like what happened after Selenus's death. But his worries were likely misplaced. After all, Gabe had agreed on him with all the Skelter x Playhouse stuff. So Frog had no reason to worry, right? Things were certainly looking up, so what was this nagging throbbing in his gut as he knocked on the door to the familiar house?

"Yo Gabe it's us, we're here~"

Posts : 992 Join date : 2015-10-07

At first, Brittany was totally cool with the idea of meeting Gabriel again. Oh, definitely she was. Then the closer they got to approaching Gabriel’s house again, the more anxious she’d get. Was he mad at her? What if he was? Because she wasn’t mad at him, no way. If anything, a bit uneasy and apologetic about the lack of politeness in her previous behavior, even though she had completely justified reasons to snap the way she did – which was totally unlike her usual self.

“Are you sure he’s even around? I mean, by this time isn’t he at, like, his work…you know, working?”, the girl asked, glancing at Frog unsure.

Posts : 4801 Join date : 2014-01-13

Everything about this situation was unexpected, seeing either of the two of Frogger and Brittany both at his house again. Even though things seemed to have made up for itself, or maybe the attempt of making up for things after reaching out to Frog, it was only because Gabe reached out to Frog in the first place. The frustration here was that there was a lot on Gabe, or better yet, a lot of internalized responsibilities. It was he who had to do the apologizing, had to make up for things, or even do most of the talking to initialize a point of reconciliation between both groups. Long story short, it was always him, or it felt like him trying to do the work, regardless of whether he was just as upset or angry about the turn of events.

He didn't know what to expect from the visit of both of them, especially with trinity not around, but Gabe unlocked the door in order to let them inside anyway.

"Come in."

There was no real added dialogue besides that for the time being, with Gabe shutting the door and locking it as soon as they entered. Afterward, Gabe took his usual spot, the high chair looking single seat couch in the living room. He sat there last time as well.

"Not too sure what Froggerio told you, but I ended up reaching out to him a couple days ago. I didn't like how things ended, so I wanted to change it."

Posts : 2877 Join date : 2014-12-26 Age : 27

"Uh, I think he doesn't have the daily kind of job anymore." Frog replied to Brit, scratching his chin. He could see that she wasn't feeling quite up to this. There was even a hint of hope that Gabe indeed wouldn't be home to answer the door in those words of hers. With how their last meeting went, it was no surprise she wasn't looking forward to this. But Frog had met Gabe after that and he thought that getting them all together would be the best way.

As Gabe opened the door, Frog greeted him and entered the house yet again. He sat at the coffee table and looked at Brit, tapping the spot next to himself with a smile, inviting her to sit down with him if she was feeling unsure still. "Yeah, Gabe and I had a conversation about that last unfortunate meeting and it went well. Oh, and I told him I wanted to trade information between our groups. I think it'd benefit all of us safety."

Posts : 992 Join date : 2015-10-07

“Wait wha- really”?, she asked curiously. Sure she hasn’t been in touch with Gabe for a while, but she didn’t know it was so long ago that some things changed along the way. One of them being Gabe being dismissed from his expensive-looking, enchanting job at the casino. Now, Brittany could only feel bad.

Guilty thoughts aside, when Gabe appeared at the door, the girl casted him a long stare to check on him. She was worried and he didn’t look too well in her perception. Not aesthetically-wise, for he was as impeccable as ever. But… the coldness in his greeting left little to imagination. The confirmation she needed that they were indeed in bad terms. Being the last one to enter the house, she would quickly find her place next to Frogerio – otherwise, for sure Brittany would feel a bit misplaced in here. It was the same living room as the previous one; the atmosphere, however, wasn’t.

“Oh… Hum… About that… I think I’m sorry about what I did. I really, reeeeally didn’t mean to snap on you and let it all out like that. I was just…”, she glanced back to Frogerio, sat next to her, then to her fingers fidgeting over her lap, and finally to Gabe himself. She remembered her bad attitude, the hateful attitude she tried to not replicate on her everyday life. Last but not least, her uneasiness was perfectly explicable by how personal was the topic of her outburst. Brittany wasn’t the one to let her past come back to the surface like that, and no the girl could only hope they had forgotten what she had said. Besides, Frogerio had already everything settled with Gabriel. They had it sorted out. So of course, she wouldn't hold grudges against Gabe herself. Not that she would, anyway, for Brittany wasn't this type of person. “Nevermind that. I was bothered but it’s all fine now. I wasn’t, you know, mad or upset at you. Like, I really wasn’t. But if you’re upset with me… I get it. And… have I already said I’m, like, sorry?”, she smiled awkwardly, hoping her pleas would reach Gabriel.

Posts : 4801 Join date : 2014-01-13

Gabe kind of waited until it was his turn to speak, so for the most part, he went into the kitchen and brought over a teapot and a few medium sized cups on a tray. There was also another small container of small sugar cubes and a small bottle of lemon juice. Finally, there were three spoons, one for each of them on the main counter of the table.

Alliance? [Afternoon; Frog x Brit x Gabe] Images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRb8WoJS9MvQGVnWTEc5cOKHhCG-Y1lO6gSI7J4WIBucWCE0BqE

Alliance? [Afternoon; Frog x Brit x Gabe] Images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRb8WoJS9MvQGVnWTEc5cOKHhCG-Y1lO6gSI7J4WIBucWCE0BqE

"Help yourself, if you want some snacks, maybe I can check for something that you both will enjoy."

He waited for a while, it was still pretty early on and he really hasn't spoken to Brittany since the argument. When she was done, Gabe opened his eyes and smile.

"Well, for starters, always stand by your word. You meant what you said and came to the aid of a friend. Maybe I could have used different words or not have been so heavy handed with my approach. We still haven't really got over the hurdle, all we know about each other is that we are terrorists on different sides. I wasn't even expecting ypu to apologize, but if it helps, apology accepted. You two have a strong bond, maybe I was the one who took it lightly. "

In any event, it was time to get down to business.

"It's as he says, it's better for us to work together without the others knowing for safety sake and appearances and whatnot. So in any event, how are you both doing? Physically? Emotionally? Skelker giving you a hard time?"

Posts : 2877 Join date : 2014-12-26 Age : 27

Frog glanced over at Brit as she spoke and met her eyes when she glanced over at him. He too then shifted his eyes down but with a slight smile on his face. Not really thinking much about the exchange between Brit and Gabe and leaving them to sort out their differences on their own, Frog instead focused on the snacks Gabe brought over, taking some tea and a spoon. It was hot but he didn't get to drink tea often so he enjoyed it every time. Snacks he'd get to later. He never was much for eating such treats over at others' places.

He nodded at Gabe's remark. "Skelly boy ain't really giving us a hard time. It's more like he's not giving us anything? We've seen his hideout place but that's about it. No info on how he plans to use demons to fight at his side and stuff." Frog shrugged and sipped some tea. "I'm personally fine for now. I try not to dwell on Invidia's case too much."

Posts : 992 Join date : 2015-10-07

Okay, so Gabe wasn’t upset with her? Neat. She could smile relieved their relationship wasn’t getting stained because of a single misunderstanding and Gabe could retain his courtesy. However, if once she was uneasy about how this meeting would go after a fight now solved, now she had a different reason to shiver. Talking about Skelter felt heavy on her, if only because she still hadn’t come in terms with her decision and the fact their current missions solidify her status as a terrorist and, worse, a killer. While Frogerio was cool with it and had it sorted out, Brittany still struggled with accepting there was blood in her hands, despite not having actively participating in the slaughter, her apathetic complacence allowed it to happen. For the first time, she glanced at Frogerio, her childhood friend, like there were walls between them keeping them apart. Walls made of her grieve and their differences.

“Yeah… I’m fine too. I mean, it happened, right? It’s not like it was our fault, we couldn’t have prevented it!”, she smiled, shrugging it off. For now. “I think he’s giving us little missions here and there to make us prove our worth. I remember he intended to make a demon take control of the district that was Invidia’s… Not sure how he plans to do that… Or what about the people in there…”

Posts : 4801 Join date : 2014-01-13

"That's some interesting information, he's using a demon to try to take over the appointed district? I guess once that happens, you two would be allowed to cross into that district at night without getting into trouble with any of the demons because they align with you, correct? So at the very least, you guys would be safe for the time being hanging out there. To know this much, he trusts you at least. It's actually a good idea, but I worry about the ethics of taking something out of skelkers playbook."

With them saying a few things, it was Gabe's turn.

"So there was a blast from the past, my memory's a bit funny these days so if you heard this before, I apologize. But we did get a returning member of Skelker's original team, his name is mad dog. Apparently, he had al0t of heat on him, which caused his disappearance to protect the group. However, seeing him return, he certainly had alot of grievances of skelker going AWOL on the playhouse. Some people did show up, got a few individuals on our side, some others went to see skelker instead but didnt find them here. Caused an altercation, but Mad dog shut them down rather quick. He's strong, it's good to have a veteran show us how to gain the trust of the city."

Pouring himself some tea as well, Gabe reported something else.

"We lost someone, or...well.. I did. I didn't tell the others yet but there was a terrorist ...recently awakened, that got caught up in the police. Tried to escape with him through the sewers... cadets sent a swat team. And believe me, I put everything on the line to try to save him, i avoided hurting or killing any innocents, but I wasn't strong enough, and i blacked out. I don't know why i wasn't caught, but i don't want to instill feelings of abandonment in the main group, i would never leave anyone high and dry. But after fighting an actual cadet head on, i can say for sure that they are ....... pretty strong... way stronger than we think. It made me gauge our own potential...i'm at the limits of my own abilities and whether it's my style or what i had to work with.... in terms of ..power.... we are going to have a difficult time with a head on altercation. They were just so strong..and... i couldn't stop them."

Posts : 2877 Join date : 2014-12-26 Age : 27

Frog could hear how Brit was forcing the words she said to Gabe about what happened with Invidia. It made him twist inside, both from a sense of empathy but also from a sense of pity over the fact she even had to feel the need to force such a smile. Like she didn't wholly trust him to show how she truly felt, just because he posed himself as being totally alright with the event. But he wasn't all fine with it either, not did his words imply such. His nonschalant actions perhaps, but his words not at all. He tried not to think about it. Thus there was weight and meaning to the memories he wanted to suppress. They weighed on him as well, but he felt a sense of obligation and childish stupor to push through that uncertainty and steal Skelter's plans and ideas for his own. And then destroy him. Maybe.

"Oh so a guy from Skelter's og team is helping you out? Did this Mad Dog say anything about how Skelter was before he broke away from the Playhouse?" Frog asked when Gabe was done. He took note that some new people at the Playhouse wanted to join Skelter. That was valuable info to keep tabs on; maybe they'd pay the place a visit one of these days. Hehe, should be fun.

His eyes widened as he listened to Gabe talk about his showdown with the Cadets. Something inside him cramped again as he listened, a doubt arising in his mind about whether he was being overconfident after all? Maybe he wasn't gonna be good enough even at this. Maybe he was gonna be easily beaten by the Cadets if he ever runs into them just like Gabe was. Darn. "T-that's why we're Terrorists. We'll just avoid a head-on fight with the Cadets and pick them off from the darkness or something Terroristey." He replied, his voice audibly unsure. He didn't question why Gabe was left free if he really did black out during their fight. He had no reason not to trust the guy. He promised himself he'd trust him, after all.

Posts : 992 Join date : 2015-10-07

For the majority of the conversation – more like a dialogue between the strategic minds of Frogerio and Gabriel –, Brittany remained silent, listening. It was a practice of hers to stay quiet while others conversed with more poise and elegance about maneuvers and strategies to handle the government obstacles. That was their department and she honestly felt she didn’t have much to add to the convo or even the necessary level of intelligence to elaborate a plan. And truth be told, that was too much information for her to assimilate, therefore the need to stay quiet and hear. Until, at least, the tales told were way too concerning for her to fake temperance.

“Oh my gosh, are you alright? My gosh, Gabe!!”, was her first questioning. It was clear everything was getting to Gabe as well, perhaps in worse ways than it got to Brittany. She frowned, hints of guilty from her previous attitude coming to surface again. However, it showed good things about him that he decided to risk everything to save someone else whom he believed to be innocent, worth it. “We didn’t lose you… I’m glad. You’re at least alive to tell the tale. I know cadets are ordered to kill us if they even spot us. But… you know, I don’t think they’re bad. I think they’re just following orders! I don’t know if they really have a choice, but…”

Brittany’s hands were once again demonstrating her insecurity instead of staying still over her lap. Another death, another terrorist dead. “I know two cadets. They’re from school, you know. They’re my friends, and they’re good people. Now, I know you’ll say this is dangerous, but they don’t know about me, don’t worry. And we get along fine… But they seem to really think we’re villains and out there to kill and make things to civilians and whatnot. I can’t really blame them, we have Skelter out there who’s, like, a total maniac, a psycho. He’s low, he’s willing to go down the murder route if it’s okay, of course the cadets will believe all terrorists are like that. We can show them we aren’t, and maybe, sway them to our side?”

Posts : 4801 Join date : 2014-01-13

" Skelker before this? I guess you could say he was a bit more hopeful, not willing to do the things that he's now capable of doing and much more. Same person, different methods, less bloodthirsty. What I'm trying to do right now is learn about the playhouse's history and do thing like it was done in the past, it seemed to me from the stories that I heard that something happened and mad dog took all the heat upon himself so the group could survive. He's been in hiding, and I guess something happened around that time with mad dog's absence for skelker to turn rouge. You'll have to find out his origin story on your own since you guys have easy access to the man. This is as much information as I have on the matter, but believe me when I say that there are individuals that would be willing to join your cause because of his name. That's how much power he has...."

AS to what frog said, Gabe started to shake his head.

"And what if we get cornered? What if there is a district leader whose entire purpose is to set themselves up as bait? IF we come for them and the government is there or beats us there on the way, I won't be able to use my persona skill to bail us out. I learned it the hard way, it only works within those dungeons distorted and shaped by that person's mind. The restrictions based upon that hinder me. Right now, I am at the absolute limits of my strength as to how strong my persona can get, we either have two choices. We either have to act a bit underhanded or start gathering shards for masks, even if it's only for the sake of adding versatility. Gerio, I ran as hard as I could, and they caught me anyway. I fought as hard as I could, and I still lost. We aren't like you..... I don't know how I made it, maybe the sewage stream carried me away. I don't know......i think i used up a year of luck."

Scratching his head, Gabe ended up laughing.

"How heroic huh? You never really know how desperate you truly are when you are backed into a corner with the options slipping outta your hands. "

As for Brittany asking if she was alright, Gabe took a while to answer as he poured himself his own small cup of tea.

"That poor individual is probably rotting in a government cell, I sometimes wonder if my presence ruined his options of escape. I think about it all the time....I guess..physically... i'm as ok as can be."

However, he got a little upset at Brittany when she mentioned trying to be friends with some of the cadets.

"Don't let them find out who you are, under any circumstances...no matter what.... brittany, can't you see the pattern here? If something happened to you.....aka... ur the mad dog in this case to the skelker here.......froggerio. Now...in this case, something happens and you're gone, the person that's closest to him, and he has no way of figuring out what happened and what's going on. Maybe something happens in the middle of that, but in the end, he goes rogue, just like skelker does. And maybe ...even if she comes back and appears fine.. there is still no turning back anyway. I don't think that's what you want, but playing with fire as people are worried sick about you, when they would do anything to get you back... won't we end up being the people we are trying to avoid becoming?"

Pausing for a moment, Gabe sighed.

"Look, i'm sorry. I just want us to make safe movements. This was all hypothetical, don't take what I said personally ..you two...But changing the opinion of the people isn't in the hands of skelker and his methods. It's in the platinum playhouse.. ultimately... ours... if we still want the same thing here. "

Posts : 2877 Join date : 2014-12-26 Age : 27

The things Gabe and Brit said got Frog thinking. Brit made a fine point that the Cadets probably had a distorted mental image of the Terrorists which was ultimately causing this massive hate towards every single one of them, even those that were more passive than others, simply opening their minds to the truth. With Terrorists like Skelly boy on the loose, people were smart to be afraid and it was ruining all of their images. So then why did Brit choose to still stay with Skelly? Frog was gonna totally follow her if she decided to go back to the Playhouse. He didn't know she was thinking the same though. And Gabe spoke of Mad Dog and Skelter's past. If Skelter changed then how was Frog gonna change if anything happened to Brit. He looked at her sitting next to him. What if she wasn't sitting next to him? Would he go as far as to commit murder to get her back? He really could not say. He'd only just gotten a strong bond such as the one he shared with her...so he was fragile in the face of its potential loss. Even if Gabe spoke hypothetically, Frog took it all to heart. These were all things worthy of neurotically worrying about.

"I don't think hanging out with Cadets is wrong per se." He said in response. "However I will admit that it's a risk, but I trust Brit. She won't let herself get caught by the people she considers friends." He smiled at her with a nod before turning his face to Gabe. "Iunno if I'll ever be like Skelter. I'd say no but there's always a possibility. If Brit got captured I'd definitely trample over some moral obstacles to get her back and rescue her." He glanced down at his fidgeting thumbs. "I can't make these Masks so the most I can do is offer shards to others if anyone needs them." He added. He really didn't know what else he could say. Being Gabe's emotional support was more Brit's job. He didn't really symphatize the same deep way she could.

Posts : 992 Join date : 2015-10-07

Gabe’s sudden change of attitude made Brittany slightly recoiled. Sometimes, it felt like her personality made her easily underestimated by her peers. It didn’t bother her much but she was constantly under the impression that people’s mental image of her, as well as their opinions on her, were rather hindering instead of encouraging. It applied to her revealing her unusual interests in nerd culture such as anime and tabletop RPGs despite her outer appearance and job as a model, and it applied to her terrorist operandi too. She was ready to rebuke Gabe, if it weren’t for Frogerio’s intervention. He did more than reassure Brittany; he believed her, he believed in her, but also he worried about her. It was enough to restore her confidence in doing the right thing, but she also understood Gabe’s concern a little better if only through Frogerio coming forth about his. Gently, she placed one hand over Frogerio’s thigh. “Hey… I know what to do and how to go about this, okay? Nothing will happen, I can promise you…”, she glanced to Gabe, keeping the same tender smile upon her lips, as the grip on her boyfriend’s thigh tightened a bit. “…both of you, that I won’t get caught or, you know, be abducted by cadets. You don’t have to worry about me, I’m a grown-up girl!”

Brittany chuckled, keeping the lighthearted atmosphere between them. “I don’t think it’s gonna be easy to change their opinions about terrorists. Not with Skelter around going mad and doing, you know, crazy stuff, the crazy stuff he does. And I don’t think it’ll be easy to do it without outing me as terrorist. I’m aware. But if we can’t confront them as terrorists, we can plan better. Even if we don’t engage in, like, clear confrontation, we know who they are and they don’t know who we are. It keeps us one step ahead. Just like it also keeps us ahead if we stay close to Skelter. You know, there’s a saying like this, ‘keep your friends close and your enemies closer’? So yeah… For now, it’s better staying with him and knowing what he does or plans to do than not…”

Posts : 4801 Join date : 2014-01-13

"I don't see the point in it unless you are trying to gain an advantage or information of some sort. The closeness with such a person that's opposed to you will only pay off if you have something viable for everyone's survival, i'm not counting on empathy or anything of the sort. All I'm saying is that I like to prioritize the safety of my comrades, and after what I went through.. I guess it made me a bit..... look i'm sorry...."

Gabe got up, keeping his hands over his head as he groaned a little bit. Afterwards, he started to stretch out his back a little while looking at a painting on the wall.

Alliance? [Afternoon; Frog x Brit x Gabe] Van-Gogh.-Starry-Night-469x376

Alliance? [Afternoon; Frog x Brit x Gabe] Van-Gogh.-Starry-Night-469x376

"Do you know who painted this? Vincent Van Gogh, it's called the starry night. But if the question that comes up is in regards to it's authenticity, it's not real. No anything that was once considered precious in the world all those years ago is now lost to us, we seem to find comfort in counterfeits, a mock of what used to be the real things. That's what we, as a society, hold so much comfort in. At the same time, it's what the government represents. If that's the case, people would say that we should be grateful... but I disagree..."

Gabe was quiet for a moment and then turned back around to face the two of them.

"So... Brit... Gerio... how long were you two dating? The entire time? I'm not a fool, ive had friends in the past but no one would ever defend me as fiercely as Brittany did for you Frogerio. I just know, but if i'm right. ..I'm happy for you two, really.."

» Shift [Afternoon - Frog x Telly]
» Invite me to black [Late Afternoon; Frog x Brit]
» The Frog and the dawg and the tux [Afternoon - Frog & Selenus & Gabe]
» Mango Tango [Afternoon; Gabe x Frog]
» Gabeling [Midday, Frog x Gabe]