How Do You Make Stones Fly? (Gabe)

On the far reaches of The BackLight, where all the crowded building and claustrophobic streets take a break for a while. A small park that Callie had taken a liking to exists, she came here all the time for some peace and fresh air. Everything here was just so magical to her! It was like a hidden land of nature and fun that managed to escape the chaos of modern life. She loved just taking the place in and watching local dogs at play as their owners would just stand and talk to one another.

Although, on this day, something else had caught her attention. Something that fascinated her deeply. She had spent the past few minutes watching a couple stand beside the small lake that rested in the middle of the park, they had been taking it in turns throwing stones out towards the lake. The thing that amazed Callie so much however was how the stones seemed to fly across the lake! Bouncing up and down off the waters surface until eventually disappearing from view.

As much as she hated water, curiosity had gotten the better of her. Clutching on to her teddy with her left arm, she would bend over and pick up a small rock off of the ground and stare at it for a moment. "Hmm..." She had no idea how this was meant to work, but it was worth a shot! Right? With one quick action, Callie would throw the small rock into the lake as it 'plopped' straight through the water and out of sight immediately. "Aww... How do you make stones fly?"

Now why oh why would would Gabe be around here in the back light district. Surely he should be heading home after the interview he conducted with touko, correct?" Hmm.. just not really ready to go back yet....." Gabe seemed to be walking aimlessly with alot on his mind, he had quite a bit of time before it was night again. "..." His steps were shallow at best, echoing into the alleyways. Soon after, Gabe found himself at the park. "It really is a beautiful day, isnt it?"

Walking over to the pond, he saw people tossing stones into the pond. Perhaps they were trying to make the stones skip?" Hmm.... " Gabe would pluck up the stone and in a dexterous like motion, flicked his wrist with such grace that the stone skipped about seven times before plopping into the water simply. " Ahh, so i can...cant i....." Gabe would say looking at his hand, he was happpy that he didn't feel super duper old, as long as he can still do fun stuff.

strength

Spoiler:

Hmm... After throwing a couple more stone to their inevitable new watery home, Callie would look around herself to see if she could spot anyone else who seemed to be able to give rocks the gift of flight. After spotting a man walking up to the pond, Callie would pick up another stone and try to mimic the action that he would preform. However, it still seemed as though his rock knew how to fly whilst hers were more acquainted to swimming. Maybe it was just the rocks in this area? Maybe the family of flying rocks was over where he was standing!

Then again, there may be some secret act that you have to do first maybe? Perhaps it was like a puzzle! Or some kinda skill, like being able to do a handstand!... She wasn't very good at handstands... Regardless! The young girl would ensure her hood was securely over her head and pull at her hoodies strings nervously as she would approach the man. "E-excuse me, sir?" She'd ask in a very timid voice. "H-how did you make that stone fly? It seemed to be able to glide across the air after you threw it! D-do you think you could teach me how to do that?... Please?"

"Hmmm?" Gabe would look to the girl, wondering what she needed from him? "sir? Do i look that old to you, young one?" Gbabe would say with a friendly smile, even though it would hurt him inside just a little bit as to how he appeared to be. Gabe didnt mind old age, but he didnt want to be 22 going on 40 at such a quick rate. Or maybe he was taking all of this into account in his head, overeating, who really knew. "Ahhh, you want to know how the stones skip? It's rther an easy thing for me, almost instinctive. However, i will gide you to the best of my ability. "Gabe liked helping people. " Alright, lets find you a rock first. The rock does matter you know...

"H-huh?" Callie would look surprised and upset that she had messed up trying to make a friendly first impression on her first sentence! "O-oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean it like that... I-I just call everyone who's older than me sir or madam if I don't know their names! I didn't mean to offend you..." Her ears would flatten under her hood in disappointment of making a fool out of herself. "H-here, lets start again! Hia, I'm Callie, what's your name?" She'd hold out her hand to the man, she knew at least a handshake was always a sign of good will, right?

Delighted that the man was still willing to answer her call for help, Callie would bend over and pick up a reasonably small yet jagged rock and hold it up. "W-will this one be able to fly?"

No worries young one, i was only teasing you a little. "Gabe would say as he looked down on her and her little hoodie. "It's quite hot though, i hope you dont catch heat stroke or anyhthing of the sort. Then again, who am i to talk with this black suit of mine. " Gabe would chuckle ust a little bit as he odded his head at her name. "Callie? My name is Gabe, and i will be your... rock throwig professor today...apparently..." Gabe chuckped and did a flicking motion with his Wrist. "It's all in the wrist, ad how you hold it. Place your index finger against the edge of the rock. Hold the flat sides of the rock with your thumb on one side and your middle finger on the other. This is just one way to hold the stone; what matters, ultimately, is that you can send the stone spinning in a straight line with the flat end almost parallel to the water. You should make sure to place the stone in the crook of your index finger while placing your thumb on top of the rock to maintain control of it."

Gabe demonstrated and looked to the pond. "Face the water sideways, with your feet shoulder-width apart. Stand with your non-dominant side closest to the water's edge, with your shoulder turned toward the water. Squat down close to the water so that when you throw, your rock will be close to parallel with the surface of the water."

"Don't worry about me!" The young girl would reply, her smile returning to her face knowing the man wasn't angry with her. "I always wear this hoodie when I go out, I like it a lot and its very comfy to wear. Plus I usually get too cold too quickly so I like to keep it on just in case!" She'd proceed to tilt her head and then nod back to the man as he shared his name with her. "Nice to meet'cha Gabe! I'd be honored to be your rock throwing student for today!" She'd say with a giggle, before resuming her tilted head position as she tried to take in everything Gabe was telling her at once. Although she got lost pretty quickly... L-like what's an index finger? She could make a guess at which her middle finger was, but then you do what with a parallel? U-uhm... Her face would look puzzled for a moment, she didn't think it would be this complicated!

Although, luckily her new professor would demonstrate himself! Looking at what he was doing seemed way easier for her than trying to comprehend what he had said before. Following his instructions on how to stand however was a little easier for her to grasp. "Like this?" She'd question curiously, waiting for a response whilst clenching onto her rock. She really, really hoped she could learn how to do this. Imagine how impressed 8D would be!

"Mhm! You are holding it pretty well. Now, get ready fro the fun part, alright?" Gabe would say as he shifted over behind her and ducked own so he was atleast at her height. Afterwards, Gabe would point out forward to the pond. " Bend your wrist all the way back and then snap it forward to flick the rock against the surface of the water. Don’t think of it as throwing an overhand Frisbee, but as throwing an underhand softball. You can also think of it like cracking a whip sideways. The important thing is that you carefully bend your wrist all the way back to generate some power, and that you then flick it forward quickly and at the right angle, allowing it to spin counter-clockwise. "


He wanted her to know that making the rock spin was more important than the speed she threw it at. "Now bend your legs and follow through!"

"Hehe, yup, yup! The fun part is always the best bit!" Like when you finally manage to tag someone when playing chase, or you jump out at the seeker when they find you in hide and seek! Those were the best part of the game! "Nota over the hand Frisbee, morea under the hand softball. Got it!... Wait can it be a hardball too? Okay but then kinda like cracking some whip, hmm don't think I've done that before. B-but make all the sures that you flick it so it spins! Got it!... Probably!" She'd say all of this out loud but more to herself than anything as he was explaining it to her, not fully realizing she was even saying it out loud.

"Okay!" She'd say enthusiastically, running through everything that he had told her over and over in her head to make sure she got it all right! W-well at least all of what she remembered him saying. That'll be close enough right! Sure it would! Grasping her teddy with her left hand, making sure the big bears head wasn't in the way of her throw, Callie readied herself and then with all her might would flick her wrist that held the stone and send it spiraling off towards the pond. The stone would crash into the waters surface, bouncing one time before disappearing. She stared at the ripples the stone made in the water for a moment, before yelling joyfully. "I did it! Kinda! N-not as well as you did, b-but I did it!"

"Alright!!!! But that's not all, don't stop now. "Gabe would say as he moved around for the appropriate rocks that Callie could use for this exercise. "For any kind of skill that you would ever want to be good at, the most important thing is repetition. What you have to do now is practice!" Gabe had his hand out full of rocks for Callie to pick from and throw. If she wanted to get any good at it, she would have to keep doing it. "So right now, you should start throwing them the way that i taught you, focus on the spin. Most of all, remember the feeling, make sure the feeling that you felt when you did it right the first time is familiar to you. That will certainly carry you onward!

Callie would nod with excitement. This was really fun! "Ya huh! Repetition is a thing I love to do with anything I love. L-like climbing! Or tracking! Those are both real fun, but both took a while to do properly. C-cause practice makes perfect!" One by one, Callie would take one of the rocks Gabe provided for her and repeat all the steps she remembered in her head to try and perfect her starting position before flicking the small stone pondward. For the most part, the stones continued to only bounce once of the water before disappearing, with a few not bouncing at all, but that didn't matter much to her. She was still so proud of herself that a few of them worked and was enjoying making stones fly very much!

She'd laugh happily as she took the last stone from Gabe's hand. "Hehe, thank you so much for all the help sir! She'd add a clear teasing tone when she said sir as she repeated her preparations and threw the last stone and watched it bounce, then bounce, then bounce again! She'd just smile gleefully, at a loss for words as the ripple of the stone glided her furthest yet!

Gabe gave a thumbs up to the girl and then adjusted himself. " That will do, young rock slinger. It is not me you should thank, ou always had the potential in yourself to do so, you just needed a push in the right direction. ' Gabe would then take out his deck of cards and shuffle it. "Well, since we are in high spirits, how about a little game? From this deck, you draw a card. The top card you pick will be your fortune for the day. Or, perhaps a proposed fortune for the day. Either way, i think its pretty interesting to try if you want. "

Gabe would say with a gin. "I believe that all meetings are for a reason, and no meeting is complete without a little fortune telling. "

Rand rules

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strength

Spoiler:

"Hehe, it doesn't matter if I could always do it! I could probably always do a lota things that I don't already do, don't mean that you didn't help out! So I'm still gonna thank ya!" She'd state, not taking no for an answer, he had helped her a lot and she had to give credit where credit was due! "A game? Ooo, I love games!" She'd say excitedly as she would stare inquisitively at the deck of cards Gabe would produce, she would guess from his pocket. "A fortune? Like one of those future teller thingys?" This kinda thing seemed familiar to her, didn't 8D try this once and it went really wrong? Probably, but she was sure this guy would know what he was doing!

"Okay! Hmm..." She'd look at the deck from top to bottom before deciding at random which card to draw out. "This one!"

Card Chosen:

Alright, lets have a looks see...." Gabe would say as he took a look at the card." the 2 of clubs...Obstacles to success; malicious gossip." Gabe would think about what the card meant and creatched his head ad he looked at it once more. "Question Callie, have you ever been bullied at some point in school? Or do other students talk about you or anything? I'm not trying to pry, i hardly believe the card myself...but..." Gabe was just trying to make tsure that the young girl wasnt having any problems at home or at school, and he wanted her to be ok. Thats all it was, and it was ok if she didnt want to talk about it.

"H-huh?" Callie would tilt her head in confusion to the question presented to her, what he had said about the card didn't sound like anything she'd relate to herself personally! Then again the girl did try to make any situation a happy one even when it wasn't, and thinking about that now was confusing! "U-um... N-no? Well, I mean... It would be kinda hard for me to be bullied at school! As I've, errm, never actually gone to one..." She'd reply, looking down at her teddy and cuddling it. This sudden question of bad things was weird, she didn't like it much. B-but, why was the card saying that about her? She was very lost in all this...