Aug 13 23:10:44 108 PA - Still Spreading Advice
From Chronicles
Aug 13 23:10:44 108 PA.
SAGE ALTERNATIVES
The small statured Gabriel arrives at Sage Alternatives a few hours after the plush bear. He seems to be in a good enough mood, though rubbing his arms as if he'd just dropped a heavy load recently. "Maria, you look lovely. Is Sage around?"
Maria seems pleased by the compliment based on her response before asking if he's really here to see Sage. It is, of course, a jest as Maria is a married woman herself. Likely one thing that made her service appealing to Sage. "I will get her for you." She assures, before gesturing towards the bench. "If you don't mind sharing a seat with our mysterious guest." She points out the plushie bear that's been arranged to look towards the entrance with a little mirth before moving off to find Sage.
Gabriel says, "Not at all," as he turns and Maria turns, and they go their separate ways. He takes a seat next to the large pink bear, looking at it as if he wonders what its name is.
It doesn't take long before Sage steps out into the hall, wiping off her hands on a cloth before she makes her way towards the man sitting beside the pink bear. "Making new friends, I see." She muses, "Or were you being a troublemaker?" She asks with a little continued amusement.
Gabriel quickly tucks his hands back into his pockets. "Nothing." He allows a pregnant pause, then gets back up to his feet. "How're you doing, Sage? Don't look any worse for the wear. Wish I could say the same for my armor."
Sage settles her arms around the plushies neck as she remains standing before letting it go as the man gets up. "Better now that I've had a chance to rest after that ordeal in the Dregs. It's nice to have the people I have around me." She replies, before considers the man. "Ah, I had cope with my own armor being battered into slag not too long ago. But, how are you?"
"Intact," Gabriel says with a smile. "Just need to have the armor repaired. Still the original suit that I stole off of a man that I killed when I got here." He's morbidly matter-of-fact about it, but anyone who knows his story would probably understand why. "Thank you, by the way. I think that you should name him, 'Nemo.'" He pokes the bear beneath one of Sage's arms.
Sage hms softly, before nodding to the man's comment about the armor. "I imagine that could be arranged." She comments, "Are you looking for armor plating or the repair service itself?" She asks simply, knowing the man had sold her some a while ago. Then her lips curl into a smile. "Ah, so the mysterious G reveals himself." She replies with a little teasing, which could make one wonder if she'd figured it out or not. "You are quite welcome." She comments before considering the bear briefly. "Nemo? Hm... might have to think about that." She adds before taking a moment to consider the man. "You'd tell me if something didn't feel quite right, health-wise, right?"
Gabriel's eyes blink a few times. "Health-wise? Yeah, sure. Although I probably wouldn't just walk up and tell you about it. Why, do I look ill?" He pats himself down a few times, an eyebrow arched into the air. "As far as I know, I'm just fine. The armor, no, you can keep that. I needed the money, and it was a fair trade. But I wanted to talk to you about combat, just for a short while." Hmm, perhaps to the crux of the matter.
Sage shakes her head with a small reassuring smile, "No, but you did seem to be a little out of sorts when I came over to help you with that mage." She mentions, before nodding to the man's comments about the armor. She raises a brow faintly at the man's comment about combat. "Should we find a place to sit down?" She asks, gesturing further down the hall where there are some extra chairs near the entrance to the kitchen.
"Sure, that'd be fine," Gabriel says in response to the invitation to sit. "Yeah, I'm not a fan of magic. Not that I'm.. ah.. racist? No.. magic-ist? Whatever. Just that I'd rather have a man's hands around my neck choking me than something I can't see that someone just thought about and cast choking me. I hope that Nemo keeps you warm and cuddly when you're alone at night... whoever sent him." He winks, then moves down to the chairs. "Don't worry, nothing dramatic, I just want to bring something up."
Sage offers the man a faintly amused look at the attempt to classify anti-mage views before turning to walk towards the chairs she keeps near the kitchen for the very purpose she's proposing. "I am not sure you would be any more fond of some psychic abilities." She comments with a faint shrug to the thought, before chuckling. "If I'm alone." She points out, before pulling out a couple chairs for easy sitting and turning her attention to the man. "What's on your mind then?"
Gabriel looks sheepish, as he was just really and truly called out on the issue of psychics, something that he hadn't considered. "Ah. Yeah, I'll have to re-think this." After a moment to gather himself, he asks, "I believe that we've been in combat together three times now. Possibly four, but definitely three. You can certainly handle yourself, but if you don't mind my being blunt - you aren't a soldier. I'd always want to have you beside me, but I'd like to... share some experience and knowledge. I've spoken to Bart already, and now I just need to find Erica. May I offer some advice and criticism?"
Sage seems content to let the moment pass, and settles into a chair. The smells coming from the kitchen making this an appealing spot. And, perhaps a money generating one to those that may have to wait here for a time. She considers the man's words. She gives the man a little bit of a look at the mention of 'you aren't a soldier', as if to say those words wouldn't be passing through her lips. "Of course I'm not a soldier. You don't know me very well if you thought I had any illusions there..." She comments, before shrugging faintly. "I've made my share of mistakes, but you haven't exactly been perfect either." She comments, "You may offer, though." She gives a thoughtful look at the mention of Erica but doesn't seem to comment.
"I was only trying to be clear that we both agreed on the soldier thing," Gabriel says with a wide grin. "I'm leaving out my own foibles with grenades and modern weaponry, because I am getting better, and pretty much consider myself up to speed at this point. But it isn't about the modern weaponry, or magic, or psionics. It comes down to ages old knowing when and who to listen to." He turns in his seat so that he may more directly address his host, though in a pleasant, entirely non-confrontational tone. "We came to a point a few days ago where a somewhat critical decision needed to be made during combat, yes?"
Sage has to fight to keep her expression mostly neutral once the man starts to speak about knowing when and who to listen to. She does, however, fold her arms a little. "If this is one of the decisions about that first fight in the Dregs... I'll point out that I agreed with you about avoiding a fight. That the vote went the other way isn't my fault." She comments, "And, if it's about the part around the transforming creature, I can make some points there." She adds, "In the end, I wasn't the one tackling a foe that could more easily turn the tables around." She mentions, not really trying to offend or sound offended. "But, you may go on now."
"No, no. I'm not trying to harass you, I'm not trying to critique your actions, or anyone else's actions. I've gone through my own learning curve to get to where I am. Like I said, I think that I'm fairly reasonable now." Whether true or not, Gabriel seems to believe it, and he also seems to be freely admitting his own inadequacies, particularly those of his recent past. "The only point that I want to make - and I know that you agreed - is to listen to who is best suited for the matter at hand. I'm not going to instruct you like I did Bart - who seemed to see my logic. Or like I'm going to do to Erica when I find her. Just know when to listen, and who to listen to." He pauses to rap his knuckles on his head. "And tell me if I'm listening to the wrong people, please." A glance at his 1959 military watch apparently shows him something important, and he quickly gets up to leave. "I'm sorry, I need to run. Take care of Nemo." He grins, and begins to turn to leave.
Sage chuckles softly, "Alright, I'll make sure Nemo or whatever I end up calling him finds a comfy spot somewhere safe from the general public." She comments, "And, take care of yourself, Gabriel. I shall try to remember about who to listen to... but, I expect you to be a behaved patient should you ever find yourself in need of tending." She mentions before shaking her head and getting up to go collect the plushie. The novelty of having the bear watch the door like a security guard would likely wear thin quickly anyway.
"And so I shall. Listen to people, that is," are Gabriel's last words before he disappears out the door - with a wink at the new security guard.
