ɢᴀʟᴇ (traps) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2015-11-02 20:40:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, agent washington, gale hawthorne |
Who: Gale & Wash
What: A skateboarding lesson from the master
When: Recently~
Where: A park with ramps
Rating/Warnings: Mostly low - some curse words because potty mouths
Status: Complete
It was hard to remember that it was November. The sun was bright and warm, the air was pleasant, a nice breeze was coming off of the water. Grass in people’s yards and in the park was still lush and green and all the trees still had their leaves. The only indication that winter was around the corner was the Christmas decorations and music that had taken over almost every single store in the entire county. At least, for the most part, they had waited for Halloween to pass before trying to rush through the end of the year. It was days like this Wash was glad he had decided to stay in Orange County, all the unpleasantness aside (and God knew there was enough of that shit, especially lately). If he had stayed in Spokane, there would be no pleasant warm November afternoons in which he could take his skateboard out and actually use it for the purpose it was intended for. Wow, skateboarding. Not something Gale had ever done before - it was popular when he was younger, but growing up in rural West Virginia, not really in the way the popularity reached other more urban areas. His youth was mostly spent working simple jobs to help keep his family afloat after his father died from Black Lung, and also avoiding work in those same deadly mines. No time for fun recreational activities, but he’d make up for it now. Besides, it was more about learning a skill that was important to a good friend of his - sharing that, in a sense. Kind of like how Wash went hunting with him (and they’d had venison for awhile after that too). Dressed casually, perfect for ‘fall’ in Orange County, Gale let a grin slip free as the breeze in the park blew by, messing dark hair a little. “Alright, so where do we start? I’m guessing a few steps down from an...ollie.” If he even got the term right. It had been a while since the last time Wash had been on a skateboard. Too long really. At first he wasn’t too sure about the whole teaching someone how to ride thing. How much did he actually remember? And with his memory the way it had been recently, Wash really wasn’t all that sure this was a good idea. However, the moment he strapped on a helmet and got on the board, it was as if his body just knew what to do. As a teenager - back when he was still David – Wash had practically lived at the skate park. When he wasn’t at school or helping out at the restaurant belonging to a friend’s family he was there. As long as there wasn’t snow or ice on the ground if anyone wanted to find him, that was the first place they looked. Skatboarding, comic books and video games were the three things that had kept him sane while still living with his mother and stepfather, and of them skateboarding was the only thing his stepfather couldn’t destroy no matter how hard he punched. The grin on Wash’s face offset the otherwise tired and lost look he’d been going around with the last several weeks. Even the dark bruise-like circles under his eyes seemed to have diminished. It felt good to be out there. His buddy was back and safe. There was no immediate threat looming on the horizon. Hell, even Wash’s dreams seemed to have tamed a bit over the last couple of weeks giving him some kind of reprieve and get his head back in some kind of order. “First,” Wash started, “you need to learn how to get your balance on the board. Balance is key.” He instructed Gale to watch where he placed his feet when he on the board when he got on it. “Upper body relaxed, feet shoulder width apart and don’t lock your knees. Once you feel stable enough try rolling the board back and forth in place.” And he demonstrated same, keeping his torso straight while his feet moved the board under him. “Got it?” “I think so...maybe,” Gale chuckled, and true, Wash made it look so easy. Like he was meant for the skateboard, meant to be on it and using it to get around. For this other soldier, however, he felt kind of giant and awkward - but Wash was confident that Gale could learn, so, he owed it to them both to give it a go. And now was an excellent time. He repeated the instructions in his head as he attempted to orient himself on the board - relaxed upper body, feet shoulder-width apart, don’t lock the knees - and he both checked and double-checked his stance before looking up, lifting those wintry eyes to see approval or be told he completely sucked already. “How’s that? Are you going to push me down a hill?” Wash was convinced the size of the skateboarder didn’t matter. If you were aware of your body enough, aware of where your center of gravity was, you could master a skateboard. And as a soldier, Gale should be aware of those things. Wash watched his friend as he cautiously got on the skateboard for the first time. A little uneasy at first, but Wash had expected that. He’d been uneasy too his first time. He’d also fallen on his ass about a dozen times while trying to find his balance. Gale hadn’t fallen yet, so already he was ahead. Wash gave him a thumbs up. “See, I told you could do it.” He smirked. “As tempting as it is to push you down a hill, I think we’ll save that for when I’ve taught you how to stop. I think Leli might kill me otherwise. And speaking of which - the stopping, I mean - if you feel comfortable on the board, I’ll show you how to go and how to stop. Both are pretty easy. To start, position the front foot forward and use the ball of your back foot to push off using the ground.” As he spoke, Wash positioned his feet as a demonstration. “When you’re coasting, keep your back foot positioned on the rear of the board. The easiest way to stop is to drop your back foot to the ground, heel first, and drag. What do you think? Pretty easy?” Gale had to laugh a little. “She’s protective, I guess,” he agreed, smirk mirrored. “Though your face is too squishy too kill.” He was teasing, but then decided that starting and stopping probably was a good spot to begin. You had to learn to walk before you ran, right? Couldn’t give a toddler the keys to the freeway or anything - that’s where ‘baby steps’ came into play. He followed those instructions too, and actually got himself going for a bit, on the board - but stopping, yeah, stopping was a whole other issue entirely. Which was why it must have been a hilarious sight when he wobbled, definitely did the dragging thing sort of out of instinct, and then hopped off, in a not-so-smooth maneuver. At least he didn’t fall on his ass, so that was a positive. “Maaan, staying balanced on this thing is harder than it looks,” he snickered, however, he got right back on the board to get some more momentum going. “Squishy?” Wash repeated with a blink. He pinched his own cheek a little experimentally. A little squishy, maybe. Gale’s maiden voyage aboard the skateboard was a pretty good one. A little uneasy, maybe. Graceless most definitely. But who wasn’t unstable their first time on a new vehicle? He jogged to catch up to where Gale had come to a stop. “Not bad,” he told his pupil with a grin. “Keep your back foot a little further back on the deck and your arms out,” He held his arms out a little like a surfer would, “it’ll help with the balance.” He lowered his arms. “You’re doing good.” He put his hands in the pockets of his sweatshirt. “I fell off a half dozen times before I got the balance thing down. I also tried to take on the biggest ramp in the park my first day and ended up eating pavement,” his grin grew at the memory. His memory, thank you very much. “Lucky I didn’t break both my arms. After that it was like a challenge. Don’t worry,” Wash laughed, “I won’t make you go down any ramps.” Shit, no, Gale didn’t think that he’d be ready for ramps anytime soon. Still, he could try again - had to get back on the bike (or skateboard, in this case) when you fell off, didn’t you? Or else you’d never learn. “Further back, arms out - I feel kind of like a bird about to take flight,” he laughed, but followed those tips anyway. Got himself going again, a little faster this time... It wasn’t bad. And he didn’t awkwardly hop off, well, unless you counted nearly flipping the board in the air after he attempted to stop smoothly - he managed not to fall, it just wasn’t a very smooth landing, shall we say. “Okay, I think you need to show me how well you can take on the ramps,” he suggested, with a wry smile. “Give me a visual, or something to aspire to.” Plus, he really wanted to see Wash do some flippy-flips or whatever you actually did on a skateboard to look cool. It’d be awesome. Just like with any new skill, one didn’t necessarily master stopping right away. Wash was more impressed Gale hadn’t taken a header yet. If he had any desire to keep at it, Wash was sure he’d have stopping down to a science before long. However, the offer to show Gale what he could do on a board was really too good to pass up. “Yeah, sure,” Wash responded with a shrug, but a smile, “I can show you a few things on the ramp if you want.” The skateboard back in his possession, Wash headed for the ramps the park had to offer, gaining enough speed and momentum to jump the apex of the ramp, flipping the board, wheels over deck, under his feet. It didn’t seem to matter how much time had passed since the last time he’d been on a skateboard, or how shitty or mixed up his memory was getting, his body remembered. And along with that came a kind of feeling Wash had nearly forgotten about. The feeling of being airborne. Jumps were Wash’s favorite thing to do. There was a certain amount of thrilling freedom when he left the ground and flew for a few exciting and fleeting moments before entering a kind of miniature freefall, with nothing between him and a faceplant on the pavement except a piece of decorated wood on wheels. Where he placed his feet on that piece of decorated wood, how his body weight was distributed through his feet meant the difference between living to skate another day and possibly breaking something. That thrilling feeling of freedom and risk Wash found that even after all this time he still lived for. A feeling he craved. Wash really was at home on a skateboard, and he could have easily spent the rest of the afternoon there jumping the ramps, grinding the rails and just flying. David probably would have. But Wash hadn’t been David for years, even if he felt a little bit like him again. After a few minutes of showing off, he returned to where he’d left Gale to watch. If anyone understood the freedom that came with doing what you loved, it was Gale. He could relate to all of this on so many levels - just the way he felt in the forest hunting, silently tracking prey, designing snares, tapping into those instincts to know the exact moment the prey would cross the trap. All of that was euphoric too, and he loved it. The clean scent of the woods, crisp and intoxicating - and sure, maybe Gale wouldn’t become a professional skateboarder anytime soon. But it was good enough just watching a friend show off. “Nice,” he grinned, giving Wash an affectionate tap on the shoulder with his fist, kind of a ‘good going’ expression of pride. “You could have turned pro, man.” And at least now there was the whole idea of seeing what practice could accomplish, in action, even if Wash’s dutiful student wasn’t quite there yet. Hell, he’d have to master stopping without nearly taking a tumble first. “Should I keep at it, sensei? You believe in me enough?” Wash unfastened his helmet from under his chin. He probably didn’t need to wear it. He had rarely worn one when he was skateboarding everyday. But with a head injury only barely a year old and a recent concussion, it was probably a good idea to not tempt fate. He laughed a little as he tucked it under his arm. “Pro? Nah, not me, I’m not bad, but I was nowhere near good enough to go pro.” A few of his friends had dreams of going pro back in the day, but Wash hadn’t had the same desire. He loved skateboarding, yes, and he was really good, almost fearless when it came to attempting a new trick, but he lacked the competitive edge necessary to really make a name for himself. Wash skateboarded for himself, to burn off steam and clear his head. He did it because he loved it. Competing professionally would have diminished that. He gave Gale a teasing smirk. “Ahh, yes, Grasshopper. Keep practicing and you too shall master the ramp.” he laughed. “Seriously, dude, of course I believe in you. You wanna get back on?” Grasshopper. Gale snickered, but he gave the skateboard a look like he was ready to show that thing who was boss - it seemed to be taunting him from the ground, that deck with wheels. “Hell yeah,” he agreed, and he got himself back on there without any hesitation. He was even going to see how far he could manage, how fast he could go, in order to really push the limits. Off he went! He knew Wash was nearby, so he felt relatively comfortable in taking some risks of his own too. It was good, he even started going downhill and managed to stay upright - for awhile, anyway. Trouble was, gravity caught up to you the faster you went, and everything kind of just snowballed. Which was why when he got to the bottom of the hill, he completely wiped out. Ending up taking a fall and obtaining a few fresh scrapes, but his head was hard enough, no damage there. “Shit,” he laughed, because he just found it funny for some reason. Wash was pleased when Gale got back on the skateboard, that he was excited to. He was happy to be able to share this with Gale. He didn’t expect Gale to fall in love with skateboarding the same way Wash had, but he was thrilled that Gale was enthusiastic about learning. He took a step back and let Gale take off again. He watched impressed as Gale started challenging himself. He was a little uncertain when Gale came to the hill. It wasn’t a steep hill, but it was longer than it looked. Okay, fine, if Gale thought he was ready for a hill then that was ok. Trial by fire was a way to learn. Some people learned best that way. Wash’s arms unfolded. He watched Gale pick-up speed. He actually did a good job most of the way down the hill. Wash saw the moment the speed became too much for Gale to control and he took off running after him, like a father after a son on a runaway bike. Of course there was no way to reach Gale in time before he took his first tumble. Not that he’d been able to stop it in the first place without them both going down. At least Gale was laughing, that was a good sign. “You alright?” He jogged to a stop where Gale had come to rest and crouched down in front of him, laughing a little himself by this time. “Nice dive,” he teased. “I give it a seven out of ten.” “Thanks. I think it needed to be more swan-like though,” Gale quipped, reaching out to steady himself using Wash’s shoulder as leverage, and then hoisted himself up. That’s what you had to do, when you were learning something new - you picked yourself up, dusted yourself off, tried again. And that was exactly what he did too, brushing the dirt and pebbles off his jeans - he was bleeding a little sure, had some nice road rash on his arms, but the best part was that he was also sporting a huge grin - this was fun, and he felt more relaxed (despite the epic wipeout) than he had in ages. Maybe it was because this was all so normal. It was a lifestyle both he and Leliana were attempting to ease into, something they weren’t used to, but he felt like they were doing a decent enough job. They had friends to help, above all else. “Though I might need a five-minute water break. That okay?” And he could dig the gravel out from his wounds, the soldier way. Wash looked up at him, grey eyes squinting a little in the sun. Though Gale probably wouldn’t know it, having been gone the previous month, this was about as relaxed as Wash had been in a while as well. He was happy. It felt pretty damn good. For a moment he wondered how long it would last. He shook his head. He needed to work letting go of the things he couldn’t change to not think so much, like Katou said. Just be happy for a while. No one could blame him for it. No one would blame him for it. “Yeah, you’ve earned a water break,” he pushed himself to stand again. “I gotta couple bottles of water in my bag,” he pointed back to where he’d been standing earlier. A gray and yellow backpack was on the ground waiting for them. He clapped Gale on the shoulder, “c’mone, let’s get you cleaned up a little so Leli doesn’t kill me later.” |