fandomhigh | Fandom High Welcome Picnic, Front Lawn of the School, All Day: Part I

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!event: welcome picnic

Fandom High Welcome Picnic, Front Lawn of the School, All Day: Part I

The last picnic for new arrivals had involved a bonfire, but there was no need for artificial warmth today. The weather outside was sunny, and just breezy enough that no one would roast, hopefully. There were tables and chairs arranged around the lawn, along with a long table of food, drinks, and desserts for anyone who stopped by.

There were stacks of nametags for people to label themselves with, and lists to help folks find their siblings and roommates. With everything in order, it was time to welcome some new people!

[OCD is up! This is part one of the picnic, specifically for meeting siblings, roommates, and teachers. The rest of the picnic is happening here. Since it's outside, the picnic is open to all students, teachers, and townies!]

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"That'd depend entirely on what your home is like," Raven said. "If you were from, say, 16th century France, you'd still be pretty interesting." She was pretty sure he wasn't from 16th century France, but it made for a reasonable opening gambit.

"16th century France?" Jasper repeated, raising an eyebrow. She seemed serious which had to be wrong. Somehow, that had to be wrong but he couldn't read a joke on her face.

"Never had that honor," he said, going right along with it for now. "I'm from down south. Home of mosquitoes, hot summer days and fried chicken."

The most important things, obviously.

"Nifty," Raven said. "I'm from New York. In 1955." She gave a little 'what are you going to do?' shrug. "And that's probably the least weird thing I'm going to tell you about myself or the island, today."

"1955?"

He chastised himself for repeating things she said. It made him look confused, off balance, and he couldn't afford that. Didn't want that. He could almost picture Billy scowling.

"And I thought I'd had a long trip," he said, playing off his momentary confusion. "Sounds like I'm about to get a pretty strange rundown. Should I be sitting down? Do I need an oxygen tank?"

"I've got smelling salts in case you get the vapors," Raven assured him, though she had nothing of the sort. "People come to this island from all over space and time, so it's best to keep your mind open and not make any assumptions about anyone. You never know if they're from another galaxy or can summon fireballs with their brain."

Again, he couldn't pick up any tells, anything that made him think she was lying, putting him on because he was some stupid new kid. His brow furrowed ever so slightly and Jasper was too focused on her words to really stop it.

"Really?" The word slipped out even if he already knew the answer. "Well, then."

For once, Dear Old Dad's voice was silent. Even Billy Dent wouldn't know what to make of this.

You know, she'd kind of expected a bigger reaction. If nothing else, the usual denials. "You're taking this pretty well," she said. "Do you have a lot of magic where you're from, too?"

"Well, I've seen a guy pull a rabbit out of a hat before," he offered, smile slipping back on his face. His questions, his confusion, could be examined later when he was alone. When he had time to process. "That count?"

"It might," Raven said. "But I meant something more like this."

She decided to stay human for this shift, but still went with a major change, shifting into her leather-boy bruiser look. Big enough to be undeniable and hopefully get a nice reaction, but not so weird that it might provoke an attack, like changing into an elephant or a dragon might.

She hoped.

All right, his eyes widened. He couldn't stop that from happening and he didn't even try. He did manage to stop himself from flinching, from stepping back but then he was just standing there, staring.

"Neat trick," he said after clearing his throat. That was more a stalling mechanism than anything else. "That's...new."

This guy was stoic, Raven would give him that. She tried not to be too pleased that she'd gotten the reaction she was looking for. She mostly failed.

She shifted back into her usual disguise with a shrug. "I'm what's called a mutant. I can change my shape into anything I want. Some other people have other abilities, but some folks come from less magical worlds like yours, too." She tilted her head a little. "It's okay to be shocked. No one will think any less of you for it."

"I'm shocked."

He just didn't show it. He'd had a good trainer, after all. The best. But still, it was hard not to be shocked even if you'd been trained by Billy Dent.

"Does it hurt when you do that?" Going from female to male, from small to large, it seemed like it'd tear the body apart.

Raven shook her head. "It's just a thing my body can do. If it's a really big change that I haven't done before, like the first time I turned into an elephant, I sometimes feel all stretched out and sore. But it's just muscles." And bone. And skin. And hair.

"You turned yourself into an elephant?" Jasper asked, sounding very lightly amused. "I'm sure you've been asked this question before but why?"

"I was being attacked by these creepy little dolls at the time. Going that big was just instinct."

"Uh huh."

Jasper scratched the side of his neck before crossing his arms.

"Did it work?"

"Of course it did. Even magical creepy dolls are no match for an elephant."

"Oh, of course," he said, sounding amused at the thought. "I would have personally gone for dinosaur but what do I know?"

"Please," Raven said. "Elephants are far more elegant."

Because she was not admitting that it hadn't occurred to her to turn into a dinosaur.

"If you say so," he replied, shrugging a shoulder. "Cooler, though. Dinosaurs are definitely cooler."

"Well, then, you should be sure to turn into one next time we get attacked."

To that, Jasper could only smirk and nod. That wouldn't be happening but why outright admit that? Maybe she'd think he had some insane superpower.

Better people believe that then know what he really was.

Actually, Raven mostly thought he was a poser. Which was still probably better than the truth. "Just so you know, the attacks really only happen once or twice a semester. And it's not just creepy dolls. We had flying eels this winter."

She could think whatever she wanted to think. If she didn't get a whiff of the truth, he'd have done his job well.

"Oh, that infrequently?" he asked, feigning sadness. "Guess I'll have to find my fun elsewhere. Might take up basket weaving."

"I hear they're making that a workshop next session. You could learn to do it under water."

Fandom High Welcome Picnic, Front Lawn of the School, All Day: Part I

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