Rowing Down the River Way (Cecil/Gabe)

With the day arriving, Gabe had planned something rather adventurous with Cecil that he didn't mention beforehand. All he said was for him to bring a life jacket for himself and maybe have himself a nice coffee in order to keep being perked up and chipper. With these little suggestions, Gabe wanted Cecil to meet him at the river.

But by the time Cecil arrived, he was going to see a boat of some sort of paddles and an excided Gabriel in the distance.

The message was met with a blank stare when it arrived.
A - A life jacket? He, he was -
What the hell were they doing at the river that he needed a life jacket?


He found his answer once they finally met up.


Any other time the sheer glee Gabe was displaying would have been decidedly amusing, but he'd decided to leave the electronics at home to avoid water damage, and not having them made him feel rather uncomfortable. He looked uncomfortable as he approached Gabe, the absence of his player and other items distinctly felt. "I didn't know you were allowed to take a boat across the river."

"Well, the rules for that are kind of blurred in a huge pile of what you can already do and what it's ok to assume that you can do that's within the rules of what's allowed We are allowed to move further into the lake for the sake of getting some more fish or being able to cast our lines into the deeper parts of where some of the fish like to dwell.  But if we have access to the boat and already can row, what difference does it make if we took the riverway as a shortcut?"

Gabe would give a bit of a playful grin as he patted cecil on the shoulder.

"I was hoping that you wouldn't get cold feet as soon as you saw what my true intentions were for today's activity. But I really think that you would like it. It' not even for the fish, not really....it's for the experience. "

Cecil rubs at his head, fingers raking through his head. "So...semi-legal river trip. Not entirely sure what to make of that." It was another headache on top of the one he was already dealing with, and if he was being honest he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to deal with it. That said, he'd already come out just for the purpose of this, so..."Do you at least have some fishing equipment so we can make excuses if we need to?"

"Well, thinking of it as a new experience is a first. But then again, I already said that. I felt like something like this would surprise you and keep you on your toes at the same time. "

Going into the rowboat after adjusting his life jacket, Gabriel picked up two fishing rods and shown them to Cecil.

"Besides Cecil, nothing a little bit of money and a silver tongue won't fix if something was to occur. It's not necessarily illegal, we are simply sailing somewhere else to get a better catch. But the challenge is definitely the river, something out of a jumanji movie once we get started."


Other than that, Gabe hasn't heard from Cecil in a while.

"How have you been? Hows the family? I think I ran into a fellow student a long time ago by the name of Tomomi, he's the captain of the martial arts club. Unlike yourself, he specializes in unarmed combat, but it's rather interesting to meet two people who are fond of their craft. "

"You're not wrong...this was unexpected." Seeing the rods, he nods and trudges over before lowering himself into the rowboat. He sighs and shakes his head as Gabe provides his reassurances, trying to ignore the strange twinge in his head. "I'll take your word for it. Sorry, just...little stressed. Rough trip getting here."

He perks up at the unexpected name, seemingly surprised. "Wait, you met Tomomi? When did that happen? I-" He chuckles and glances away. "He's just a friend of mine is all. Didn't expect you to meet." He shrugs. "I'm not sure what you mean when you say that he specialises in that stuff 'unlike me'. What am I supposed to specialise in? What kind of craft am I supposed to be practising here?"

"I mean, if you wanted me to pick you up, I could if sent for a cab or something along the way that was three minutes of a walking distance from this spot. I wouldn't have minded, but me myself, I wouldn't be able to personally go and get you.  I needed some time to set all of this up, you know?"

It's not like Gabe could trust anyone else to do this, and he liked to include people that would humor him whenever he went on these particular adventurous escapades.  On the other hand, it was only an assumption that Tomomi and Cecil were classmates, but Gabe didn't know that they REALLY knew each other. He just thought that their talents were peculiar and that they should get to know each other. Tomomi seemed timid, maybe it would have been good for him to have friends his age. Much to Gabe's surprise, he already did.

"He did some work for me at the Lucky Clover casino, he works pretty hard. But I treated him well.."

It seemed what gabe said was taken out of context.

"He specialized in unarmed combat, you specialize in ultimate stage singing. That all that was..not to be taken as an insult, my friend. "

Cecil is quick to wave off the idea. "No, no no, you, you wouldn't have had to do that...no need to spend your money or go out of your way or anything. It's nothing. Just me being stupid." He laughs weakly. "Honestly, the idea never occurred to me anyway, so...yeah."

The blond listens quietly as Gabe elaborates on the circumstances of the pair's meeting, simply nodding in response. He didn't quite expect that he would work at a casino or any such thing, but it was possible that was just where his job sent him.
When he elaborates on the specialisation matter though, Cecil lets out a loud groan. "That - that's not a speciality of mine. At all. Why - we went once. Once. And I didn't even do that well!" He hides his face in his hands, feeling extremely embarrassed.

"You did as good as I did, we could have took the path of a wallflower and watched as others went on the stage. Maybe some performances would have been good, maybe some have not. However, what we did that day takes great courage. It wasn't for the applause or even the idea of recognition, obstacles such as that needs to be faced head on in order for us to get the full value of the lessons it brings. For instance, as long as you have a good buddy with you, it won't be so bad. Right?"

Gabe then pushed off the boat in the water and took his seat near the two paddles.

"Which is what makes it all worthwile."

"I, I know, it wasn't that bad, but-"
The sudden motion of the boat on the water sends a surge of alarm through the boy's tense frame, and his hands flew from his face to quickly clamp down on the sides of the boat. Suddenly things felt like they were swaying beneath his feet, and despite the fact he knew he had something solid beneath him the sudden panic of the moment made him feel it would glide over and upend on him in the next passing seconds.

...and then, it didn't.

"...ugh...I'm more on edge than I thought."

As Gabe started rowing for the both of them for the time being, he thought about his friend's dilemma. There seemed to be something on his mind, but he didn't really know how to help him if he didn't know where the majority of the problems stemmed from. It sounds a bit snobbish outright, but Gabe took great pride in meddling in the business of others. Bu at the very least, it came with the effort of trying to make the most of their time.

"Tell me, Cecil, are there any women in your life? It's either that, a tough decision down the line or a change in career.  I'm sure i had my fair share of all three so...penny for your thoughts?"

Very, very carefully, Cecil tried to settle himself in place on the boat. He had to close his eyes as he lowered himself down, distinctly not focusing on the fact they were already in motion.
He took ragged breaths as he opens his eyes again, too anxious to be surprised by Gabriel's question. "I - yes, but, that's not - or maybe..." He groaned, looking pained. "...I usually have my music player on me. Helps me deal with stuff around me, takes the edge off the stuff rattling around my head. Didn't bring that since I'd be by the water with no idea what I was doing. So then, I'm making my way hear through crowds and stupid and noisy stuff around me and it's worse because something really goddamn bad happened recently and it was my fucking fault..."

"...I don't know. Trying to process things, learn from them, do better...but it's way too much today and I didn't see it coming."

"You told me a lot and nothing at the same time just now. What happened? What mistake did you make? You know you can tell me about it, talking it out makes it feel better. That and maybe I can do something in order to help you in regards to your problems. That's what I do basically, I'm a little bit of a fixer, even more invested if a friend is involved. But maybe that would be a conflict of interest? Hehe..."

Gabe was trying to get Cecil to relax or open up, either of the two would work fine for Gabe, but he hoped that this would help Cecil in general.

"When it becomes too much, what you should do is take it one day at a time. Control the controllable, if there is nothing in your power that you can do about it, the worries you have towards it are lessly utalized than it would have for the problems you can take care of right now. "

The idea of elaborating on what happened made him blatantly uncomfortable, that much was clear. "...it's...really kind of personal, Gabriel. I...what could have happened - it would have been grave." He swallows. "...I got too wrapped up in my own head to attend to my relationships. Focused on a bunch of problems and neuroses I worked myself to death over unless someone went to drag me out of it. It...kinda took a toll on the people around me. People who used to be just as lonely as I was before we got to know each other."

He sighs, still tightly gripping the sides of the boat. "...I could have done something. Could have done everything. I just didn't."

"Alright, you don't have to share. I can be a little blunt with my advice, so I wouldn't be around the bush in order to help you with your troubles. However, if you ever want to talk about it with me, you can. No pressure, just making myself available. "

That was all he could do as he rowed down some more.

"So basically there are other things in your mind that are holding you back. Ever heard of living in the moment? Let's say you go to a museum with someone or something, not to say that your problems don't matter, but if you are here, you're here! The things that should matter are the person you are spending time with and the hidden meaning that each museum piece may carry. Or this, if you have trouble focusing, how about yoga?"

Gabe smiled as he saw some fish in a good spot.

"Meditation, it's good for the soul. Breathe through your nose, and out through your mouth. As a matter of fact, we can try it here. It's a nice and quiet place with nothing but light natural tones and the sound of water. The point is to find your inner peace and use it as a balancing stone for other priorities that you feel are weighing you down."

But most of all, Gabe had to say this next thing.

"When it comes to the things you should have done, there is no point in thinking about the past once that moment of choices is over. When faced with one, ask yourself, do you really care to do this? Would you have any regrets if you do or don't? Most of the time, if you really have to think about something instead of the answer being timely, it just might be no. But you're young, it's ok to take a gamble, to take those chances. Don't wait for the moments to go by and you think about them like this"