05 Destracted
Enchantment of the SeasJuly 10, 2013GymFreddie had been feeling better since talking to Lilly. He knew that he'd probably never see them again after this cruise was over, but he couldn't help but get attached to them. Their company filled a hole in him that had been left empty for a long time. She had inspired him to pray again, too. He'd lost touch with his faith since the accident. He never felt angry with God, or bitter, he just didn't care anymore. He hadn't particularly cared about anything past that point. He went through the motions of his life, doing his best to accomplish the goals he had set for himself, even though they had become almost meaningless. He had barely slept last night, but he felt more energetic and alive than he had in months. He laid awake and poured his heart out like he was talking to an old friend he hadn't seen in years. He cried, at points, and laughed at good memories that came back to him from time to time. When he slept he dreamt good things and happy memories.
"Vivir en Cristo me da paz;Con él habitaré;Ya suyo soy, y de hoy en másA nadie temeré"
He sang the only hymn he remembered off the top of his head as he walked to the gym for the morning seminar. Dennis was more than a little taken aback by the new laid-back Freddie. "What's up with you today, Fred?!" Dennis tackled him from behind and squeezed him around the chest before shoving him off. "It almost looks like someone pulled the stick out of your ass." Freddie laughed and punched him in the shoulder. "Yeah I guess so. Has Cecily showed up yet?" He looked around for the little kangaroo mouse, intent on keeping his promises from here on out. "Nah, your girlfriend hasn't shown up yet. BTW does she know you were cheating on her with some skeezy housecat?" He shoved Freddie's shoulder and looked around. "So, man, you think you wanna go hang out tonight? There's a lounge on this ship with a disco and stuff. You could get your dance on, maybe find a less slutty chick to hang out with for awhile?""Yeah, you want the sluts to yourself, right?" Freddie laughed and shoved him back. "Sure, man. I don't have anything special planned." "You sure man, cau- Wait, what the fuck?!" He raised an eyebrow surprised. "You said yes? The fuck." He walked flabbergasted to the front to get ready for the start of class. Freddie shook his head and chuckled quietly as he followed him up.As the session was about to start the small kangaroo mouse burst through the door, slid passed Freddie while she pulled the t-shirt over her head revealing the outfit he had gotten with her earlier that week. She joined the back of the group where she had found her common spot for the past three days."Okaaay... in a hurry today aren't we, pequena?" He said quietly as class began. Class went by as would be expected. Now that they were into it a few days people were slowly catching up and getting into the exercises. Most people were needing less and less assistance except for the late comers that they always got. Cecily seemed a little out of it, but not enough to be unsafe. He figured he would ask her what was up after class.Just as the class ended the young mouse grabbed all her belongings and sprinted full steam from the gym and disappeared down the hall, not leaving any time for Freddie to have much of a chance to even look in her direction after the session."Uhh...ok... that was weird..." Freddie walked out, heading to the Windjammer for lunch. "You wanna come to the Solarium and get a drink?" Dennis asked, waiting at the gym door. "Nah, I need some solid food." Freddie stopped and turned back to him. "They have hotdogs and a salad bar and shit. Come on man." "No thanks, I prefer to shower before I get a shower before I use public pools and stuff. Besides I'm on a diet. Have fun man, we'll hang out tonight." Freddie turned and headed to the Windjammer, singing as he went.
En la cruz, en la cruz,Do primero vi la luz,Y las manchas de mi alma yo lavéFue allí por fe do vi a Jesús,Y siempre feliz con él seré.
Once to the Windjammer he grabbed his food as usual. He got a little extra fruit this time, just because he felt like sweets. He walked around looking for Lilly and maybe Cecily, hoping to figure out what she was up to. He soon spotted the liger sitting by herself looking at a spot on the table next to her plate. As he approached she put up her hand and said, "Don't talk, its just getting good." With that he noticed the wireless headphones and the small tablet and the movie she was watching, some old animated flick about a toaster and other household appliances trying to find their old master. As he cautiously took his seat, confused by the situation, she tapped the screen, dropped the headphones around her neck and looked up at him, "I thought you'd have something better to do than hang out with an ass hole liger today.""Heh not really. That's a great one. La Tostadore Valiente!" He said with a little flourish as he forked a grape. "We loved that one when I was little. So where's pequena? She was in a real hurry today." "Sisy is going to meet a new friend for lunch over at Chops Grill. Some moose girl that I nearly bounced an air hocky puck off of." She said with a pit of pride in her smile."Heh, that's nice. It's good that she's getting easier with people. She's been really timid. I noticed it today though, she was almost acting completely normal this morning when she ran in. It was nice." He smiled too, nibbling at his fruity salad. "What're you up to today?""Me? The usual, reading books, watching movies, swimming, sleeping. What else am I supposed to do on vacation?" She looked up at him, "Seriously, I think I'm going to lose my mind trapped on this ship. At least Squeaky found someone close to her age to hang out with. I was getting a little worried that she might not get out and do much until we got to the islands." She stabbed her fork into a few pieces of meat, "I mean, really. What kid wants to hang out with their mom for two weeks? I'm sure after the past month she is sick of me.""I doubt that. Come on, you're awesome and you know it. No way she could gets sick of you." He drank his water and continued to eat. "At least you're not just running around like a teen on your first heat like everyone else on this ship." Lilliana snickered at the comment, "You talking about your compatriots?""Huh?" He looked up, confused for a second before laughing loudly. "HAHA Yeah those two but everyone else here too. You know a bunch of witches had a wedding here the other night? There were like a dozen teenage couples there on the verge of having an orgy in the ballroom. But everyone here's like that. You can almost smell it. Everybody here old enough to get a boner is trying to bury it in anything warm." The tines on her fork tapped loudly against the pate as she spoke, "They are Wiccan or pagans, it is rude to call them anything less. Yes I know they are a bit more... Open... to the sex thing than most groups, but they still have standards. The rest of the pups around are just out of control kids whose parents have no clue what they're doing." She looked up at him, "And let's not forget our own transgressions before pointing out those of others." She finished with a smirk.He played with his food timidly, looking down at it and avoiding eye contact defensively. "Well... from someone who's had more than a few Santeran curses laid on my doorstep, my school locker, my first bicycle... they're witches to me. And yeah, I did a stupid thing. But I'm 21. I'm talking about friggin preteens running around like this is the playboy mansion..." He ate bits and pieces, keeping his eyes low. He didn't want to make her angry or disappoint her, but he respected her too much to not speak his mind.She looked over at the now seemingly ashamed parrot, "So you're telling me when you were hitting puberty you didn't want to experiment with the hot young girls... or boys? Let's get real, these kids aren't doing anything they're not getting away with at home. Cubs will push the boundaries set for them, and those that have no boundaries will push those set by society. My opinion of the whole thing is that the cubs are not to blame, they are doing what comes naturally. It's the parents that need to get off their ass and do their part of raising them." She leaned back from her plate, "So what will it be, accept that the kids are going to do what they can get away with or take it on yourself to try and set things right as your mind sees it?""I don't know... I don't like seeing kids running around, getting into trouble, making mistakes that will follow them for the rest of their lives... But I'm a stranger. I don't have the right to tell them what to do any more than I could walk up and tell Cecily what to do in your place. That is, if you weren't doing a GREAT job, which I think you are. I know kids'll be kids and stuff... I don't know." He leaned back, stretching his wings behind himself. "I've always been a natural-born wet blanket. I was always the designated driver, I was the one that wanted to wait till marriage, I was the one that turned down shit that my friends would have killed for, never did drugs or drank or went out too late or... Goddamn I'm lame." He slumped down, hanging limp off the back of the chair. She laughed at what he said, "You are a stick in the mud. God what I did when I was younger." She looked up reminiscing of her ill spent youth. "The was this one party, God it was fun. The guy had like seventy acres of land and we went out on the back forty where there was this awesome fire pit at the bottom of a cliff. They had the climbing harness setup in a tree so the drunk fucks could swing out over the fire. You would have been the poor sap that got his ass tied out on the line and laughed at." She looked over at him, "You actually remind me of the poor geek. Always talking about 'they shouldn't do this' or 'they shouldn't do that'. God I wanted to slap the shit out of him every time he opened his mouth at a party, but you couldn't not invite him. You know what I mean?""Umm..." He blushed, a little embarrassed but shook his head. "No. Like you said, I'm usually that guy, so I guess it's just everybody wants to slap the shit outta me. I suppose it's a good thing I can fight alright." He smiled. "I doubt anyone could have tied me anywhere... I didn't want to be, at least.""Ok, chicken tenders, that's enough ranting on the indiscretions of the mortal world. Try to talk about something that will put a smile on your face, not mine." She said as she continued to eat."Hmmm... I'm gonna go out with Dennis tonight. There's a place on here with a dancefloor besides the ballroom and the kids' disco so I figured I could go and maybe loosen up and just have fun. Give me a chance to dress up for once. You may like it. I don't know if they'll play anything you'd like but at least it'd be danceable.""Sorry lunch bucket, I have Sisy to think about when it comes to stuff like that. Sure she can fend for herself, but I don't want her to have to. Besides they never play and grunge or thrash at those things, and they never devolve to a mosh pit." she finished her thought before shoveling more food into her mouth."Hahaha alright. Actually I was gonna ask Cecily if she wanted to give me a hand tonight. I was gonna file my "special occasion" designs into my beak and was thinking about letting her help." He traced shapes in his beak idly. "Well feather head, I think you're overlooking one thing. She's a girl and she found another girl about her age to hang out with." She looked over at hing, "I don't think she will be free to goof off with a pigeon tonight." She glanced down at her phone, "If she spends much more time in the gril she may not have time for much tonight." He smiled big, his tailfeathers fanning. "That's alright, though, isn't it? So long as she's safe and having fun that's what matters. Heh, you can give me a hand if you promise not to carve a bunch of dicks or a Hitler 'stache on me." He laughed as he ate through his salad. "Unless you want java code scratched into you face for a few weeks, you don't want me near your beak." She said with a snicker.As the two talked Cecily came running up to the liger and grabbed her arm, "Dinner in the main dining room... I have nothing to wear." The little mouse said softly.Lillyana look at the girl with a smile, "Well there go my dinner plans. So I guess you want to go shopping." She looked over at Freddie, "Unless you have an overwhelming need to watch a teenage girl try on a few outfits, I think lunch is done for me.""I think I can live without it for now." He smiled at Cecily and leaned over to pat her shoulder. "You better believe you've gotta show me whatever you get though. You're gonna be gorgeous and I don't want to miss it." He sat back and went back to nibbling at his salad. "You girls have fun!" Lilliana stood up from the table, "Well I guess this is TTFN, turkey. See you for our next lunch." She took Cecily by the hand and the duo left the eatery together.