At the House of Mouse, Adam and Rachel were decking the halls like never before, with their respective teams all helping out as well. Christmas music was blasting from the stereo system as they put up decorations… well, Adam and the others were putting up decorations, while Rachel was looking through a guest list to see who they should invite.
"Mary Poppins is a must, seeing as Gabriel's mom loves that movie," Rachel said. "Oh, and Spider-Man for his brother… Hm, but who to pick for his dad…?"
"I hear he like Star Wars, so get some of those guys!" Adam called.
"I'll see who I can get on the line," Rachel nodded. "Wow, this is going really well! Team Dream Keeper have been keeping Gabriel so busy he doesn't suspect a thing either. Hope the others are getting the perfect gifts for the occasion."
[***]
"Let's just get him a gift card," Toren said simply. He alongside Double D were currently in Hollywood Studios, specifically outside of the Chinese Theater, looking for a gift for Gavin, Gabriel's father.
"What!? Come on, man, you have to give 'em something more creative than that!" Double D shouted.
"But why should we get them something they might not ever like when just giving them money will let them buy what they want?" Toren argued.
Double D shook his head. "I get where you're coming from, man, but Gabriel once told me that his family has rules when it comes to gifts: money is only for relatives, not family members. Basically, it would be super insulting to his dad if we just showed up with a gift card. At the point, it'd be nicer to just not give him a gift at all!"
Toren sighed. "Fine, we'll look for a gift. But what does Gabriel's dad even like? I know he's a computer guy, so maybe a nice coffee mug or a new keyboard?"
"If I have an inclination for what kind of gift we should be getting, then I think our best chance is to go for something musical," Double D stated. "Everyone loves music, so we just need to figure out what kind of music Gavin likes."
"Lucky us that we're near the recording studio central of the Magical World then," Toren said. "Let's head over to G-Force Records and see what we can find."
The Jaquin and crow made their way to the building with the oversized guitar outside of it, the famous G-Force Records. Any and all musical talent in the Magical World recorded here, and there was even special times when guests could come in and record as well. With the holidays coming up the studio was having a special on personalized tracks, which many people where there to do.
"Wow, that's a lot of people in line," Toren said, flying up to see how far back the line went.
"Man, this is gonna take forever to get through," Double D said. He tapped his foot on the ground, before an idea came to mind. "Wait a minute, a bet a bit of dance magic would make the time fly!"
"I dunno, this is a big line," Toren said. "Now, if Gabriel or Aline were here to give you a boost with Fantasia, or maybe even Almyra with her Mystic Veil, then maybe it would work. But we probably just need to wait out here in line." The Jaquin sat down, patiently waiting in line. A few minutes later, however, and Toren's eye started twitching before he jumped up with a shout. "Argh! I can't take sitting around like this! Let's just try your dance magic plan, Double D."
"All we really need is a tune to dance to," Double D said. Just as he said that, a distinct drum beat came on the speakers outside the studio, with the crow feeling his magic starting to warm up as it came to his ears. "Oh, I think we can make this work. Stand back, everyone, because Double D is about to break it down!"
"I'll help out too," Toren said, his scarf shining with magic as he went back-to-back with Double D.
The two started slowly bouncing to the beat, with Double D, making record scratching motions in time with the song before the guitars came in. Some of the people in line pulled out their phones to record the two, with some even recognizing them as Co-Dream Keepers. Before long the song truly began, with Double D and Toren rapping the lyrics as they danced.
Now there's a backseat (lover!)
That's always under-(cover!)
And I talk 'til my daddy (say!)
As the two performed, Double D took the lead in the dance, doing some classic hip-hop moves that went along with the beat, while Toren simply followed in his footsteps as best as the quadruped could.
Said you ain't seen (nuthin'!)
Til you're down on her (muffin!)
And there's sure to be a change in (ways!)
Dance Magic took hold as the people around them became more invigorated, some even leaving the line to watch their performance.
Now there's a cheer-(leader!)
That's a real big (pleaser!)
As far as I can remi-(nisce!)
One person in the crowd was a bald eagle with soft red eyes wearing a black polo shirt with jeans. He took out his earbuds to listen to the song and watch the performance, an look of intrigue on his face.
But the best thing (love it!)
Was her sister and her (cousin!)
And it started with a little kiss, like this!
With the short breakdown, the eagle soon started tapping his foot to the beat, with dull green sparks weaving out into the ground like circuits in a computer. "If you guys want to perform, then make sure you do it well," the eagle said, staying in the crowd while stepping forward to sing the Aerosmith part of the song.
She starts swingin'
With the boys in tune
And her feet just fly up in the air!
"Woah, this feels familiar," Double D said, looking as the green magic flashed with each dance step he took.
Singin' hey diddle diddle with a kitty in the middle
And they swingin' like it just don't care!
"It's almost like whenever Gabriel gives us a Fantasia boost!" Toren noted.
So I took a big chance
At the high school dance
With a lady who was ready to play!
The two soon were performing even more daring moves as the magic underneath their feet transformed the ground below them into a simple stage for them to dance on.
It wasn't me she was foolin
'Cause she knew what was she was doin'
When she told me how to walk this way
As the chorus came up, Double D reached out and grabbed eagle, pulling him onto the dance floor and encouraging others in the crowd to join them as well.
She told me to:
Walk this way!
Talk this way!
Walk this way!
Talk this way!
The eagle shrugged, shimmying along to the beat. "Gabriel did say he had some interesting friends," he noted.
She told me to:
Walk this way!
Talk this way!
Walk this way!
Talk this way!
Well just gimme a kiss!
The eagle soon did air guitar moves, making his magic surge once more and drawing in more people's attention.
Oooh, a-like this!
"Hey Double D, do you think this guy might be Gavin?" Toren whispered.
"What? No way. Gabriel is a raven, so the rest of his family must be as well," Double D scoffed before continuing the song.
School girl (sleazy!)
With a (classy kind of sassy!)
Little skirt hangin' way up her knee
The crow started doing more advanced hip-hop moves, making some people move out of the way so he could perform.
It was three young (ladies!)
In the school gym (locker!)
And they find they were lookin' at D!
Toren flew over the crowd, looking to see that the line had significantly shortened in length thanks to their efforts. "I dunno if time is going faster or we just pulled them out of the line, but it's working!" he cheered.
I was high school (loser!)
Never made it with a (lady!)
Til a boy told me somethin' I missed
Double D smirked, flipping onto his hands before doing a head spin.
That my next-door (neighbor!)
Had a daughter had a (favor!)
And I gave the girl just a little kiss, like this!
As soon as the spin finished, Double D pushed himself back onto his feet, getting claps from the crowd as he took a bow.
She starts swingin' with the boys in the school
With her feet flyin' up in the air
Singing hey diddle diddle with a kitty in the middle
I was swingin' like I didn't care
Double D and Toren joined the eagle with their own air guitars as they all sang together.
So I took a big chance at the high school dance
With a missy who was ready to play
Wasn't me she was foolin' 'cause she knew what she was doin'
When she told me how to walk this way
The crowd started chanting along with the song as the three all did a synchronized dance step together, coming right out of a music video.
She told me to-
Walk this way!
Talk this way!
Walk this way!
Talk this way!
Double D and Toren gave each other a high five as their plan had worked.
She told me to-
Walk this way!
Talk this way!
Walk this way!
Talk this way!
Well, just give me some air!
The eagle did one last air guitar solo, his magic manifesting a light mist to cover the dance floor as he did so.
Like this!
The song played out with Double D freestyling while Toren flew around, the crowd soon dispersing as it came to an end. Looking at the line, it was now a lot more manageable than before, much to their relief.
"Oh yeah, now we can get in there and get some new tunes for Gabriel's dad!" Double D cheered. "Thanks for the help, eagle dude!"
"The name's Gavin," the eagle said, shaking Double D's hand. "Your passion for dance reminds me of my son's love of music. And trivia, lots of trivia."
That made the crow freeze. "Wait, you're Gavin? But you're an eagle!"
"When we heard that Gabriel had become a bird here the Magical World, the rest of us decided to become our favorite birds as well," Gavin explained. He then gave the two a knowing wink. "Don't worry about me knowing what you're going to get me. I'm not very picky when it comes to gifts, but do know that rock and roll is my favorite."
"Uh, nice to meet you, Mr. Gavin sir," Toren greeted nervously.
"You must be Toren," Gavin smiled, patting the Jaquin on the head. "I've heard a bit about each of Gabriel's friends, and he mentioned that one of them was a cat-parrot hybrid. You remind me of the some of the boys I mentor back home."
"But I heard that you were a computer guy," Double D questioned.
"Well, I work as a debugger for a living, but in my free time I help out as a Scout Master at my local troop," Gavin explained. "Gabriel and his brother, Gray, were in the troop when they were kids as well. Watched them both get up to Eagle rank and it was one of the proudest moments of my life."
"Wow, I didn't even know that Gabriel was a scout!" Toren exclaimed. "Maybe that's why he's such a good leader."
"It's good to hear that he's putting those skills to good use," Gavin nodded. "I'll be honest, back home Gabriel didn't do much accept stay at home and play games. Coming here and being a Dream Keeper really seems to have done wonders for his social skills." He looked at his watch and sighed. "Well, I need to get going. Hope to see you again."
As Gavin walked off, Double D shook his head. "Man, imagine Gabriel not being super social. Like, that's seems so unlike him it's crazy!"
"Then again, maybe the Magical World helped him become who he was always meant to be," Toren suggested. "He's always been a Disney fan, so maybe by becoming friends with the characters he's always loved, it helped him use his skills and make friends with people like us."
"I think you might be onto something, Toren," Double D nodded. "Now then, let's not waste more time and get into G-Force Records to grab Gavin some tunes! I'm sure we'll find some good Rock and Roll for him to enjoy."
Author's Note
Hope you enjoyed today's chapter! Gavin is based on my dad, who is both a computer debugger (mostly working on making sure websites run correctly) as well as being a Scout Master at our local troop. And yes, both me and my brother got to the rank of Eagle Scout when we were in the troop. I'm sure Huey would be proud of us.
The song this time is "Walk This Way" by Run-DMC and Aerosmith, a classic mix of rock and rap that's one of my favorites of the genre. You can hear this song on the Rock 'N' Rollercoaster in Hollywood Studios, but it's solo Aerosmith version.
Toren suggesting a gift card is something that his creator, AvalorianJaquin, suggested as a gift idea for Toren. The not getting direct family members gift cards rule is also something my family follows in our house.
Next Time: Silver and Aline get a gift for Gabriel's mom!